


Embers on Ice Sheets

by thegirlinthefandom



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, Art, Avatar Lance, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Dark Lance (Voltron), Death, Earth Kingdom, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Family Issues, Fanart, Fire Nation, Firebender Keith (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), I love resistance, I promise, I will take their happiness and crush it, I'm Sorry, LITERALLY, Lance will live with PTSD but it's fine, Langst, Like, M/M, Manipulation, Mind Manipulation, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Murder, Music, Mutual Pining, One True Pairing, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Resistance, Water Tribe(s), Waterbender Lance (Voltron), air nomads - Freeform, anYWAYS WHY AM I WRITING THIS, and you definitely have not seen the last of Kana, but happy ending tho, but they'll like, but yeah, dont wanna give too much away, have fun, i'm going to hurt all of you and myself, in a big dramatic way, just know that, keith suffering for a bit, lance being angsty, lets get this shit goin, not intentionally tho, oH YEAH CAUSE IM TERRIBLE, really suffer, she will return, shiro being badass, so be ready, someone will kill someone, the world hates Zarkon, time for fun kiddies, touchy subject so like, why did I write this, your boys will be hurt but its okay cause i'll fix it later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:46:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8874538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegirlinthefandom/pseuds/thegirlinthefandom
Summary: Lance is the Avatar, as well as the prince of the Southern Water Tribe and boy, does it suck. His life has been an endless list of responsibilities and now an arranged marriage has been added to that list. But before he can marry the princess of the Northern Water Tribe and fulfill the duties to his family and nation, Lance has to travel to the Fire Nation and master firebending. And who better to teach the arrogant, and talkative avatar than the hotheaded and stubborn prince of the fire nation. What could go wrong right?





	1. Forced Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> I finally get to post the first chapter!! I'm so excited, I've been so busy with finals and I'm finally on winter break which means I finally get time to draw and write to my heart's content! I created an art piece for this chapter but I'm having a lot of trouble with uploading it so next chapter for sure!! I hope you guys are ready because I worked really hard on this chapter. I'm giving you my all!! Enjoy!! ^_^

“Are you ready Lance?”

“In a minute mom.”

Lance placed the remaining garments in his wool duffle bag. It was not surprising that packing took longer than usual or that he found it impossible to find suitable clothing for where he was headed. After all, the Southern Water Tribe climate was the farthest thing from the humidity and heat of the Fire Nation. Lance had already visited most of the world, having before seen the enormity and richness of the Earth Kingdom, the soggy and damp swamp of spirits, as well all of the four directional air temples.

He even traveled to the all familiar ice caps of the Northern Water Tribe, but this time he went with his family. Lance had been endlessly moving around the globe ever since he turned fifteen years old, and returning home to his family, only to leave again two to three months later. Now at eighteen, he wished he could just stay at home in the Igloo. It’s a tough job being the avatar.

The young avatar had mastered all the other three elements. Water obviously being the first and also the easiest for him to learn. After perfecting his waterbending, Lance traveled to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu where he met a master Earth bender named Hunk. Under Hunk’s infinite patience, friendliness, and positive reinforcement, Lance grasped earthbending fairly quickly and remains good friends with his teacher. His journey continued as he traveled to the Spirit Grove tree in the swamp and met a swamp bender named Pidge, who at first, he didn’t get along with as well as his earth bending master. Pidge was a strict teacher, she had a sharp tongue, and she would often hurl degrading insults at the waterbending avatar when he would get distracted. She was a tough instructor but all those times of smacking Lance upside the head and telling him to focus on his stance and meditative posture paid off. Pidge successfully taught him how to channel spirit vine energy and use the roots of the Spirit Grove tree to see and become aware of all the linked connections between the four nations and people of the world. The two even gained a strange and unique sort of friendship built on playful taunting and teasing. He then flew with an earth kingdom airship to the Eastern Air Temple and met an air bending Guru named Coran where he learned to master his avatar state and let go of his worldly attachments. So far, this seemed to be the toughest part for Lance, for he didn’t want to let his attachments to his family and friends go. However, the eighteen-year-old appeared to calm down when Coran explained that letting his attachments and worries go didn’t mean separating from them forever. It only implied that he wouldn’t let them weigh him down or burden him when he was trying to activate the avatar state. He grew to have a close relationship with the older man as well. Once he perfected his avatar state, he went to meet Coran’s close friend and the best airbender in the world, Allura. She was a few years older than Lance, but that didn’t stop him from trying to woo her with his self-proclaimed charm. Unfortunately for the waterbender, his advances were met with Allura’s closed glider to the head. However, she still agreed to teach him, but she didn’t go easy. She was strict like Pidge was but still compassionate the way Hunk was. Lance faced the most difficulty with air bending, of the three elements he had learned thus far, but after Allura’s rigorous drills and training along with her kindness and encouragement, he got the hang of it as well.

Which meant the only element left to master, was Fire.

“Lance, your father won’t be happy if you’re late to the meeting!”

Oh right, Lance had almost forgotten. His father had asked him to participate a meeting between the two tribes. Their sister tribe had come to negotiate trade and relations between the North and the South. As the chief’s son and avatar, he was pretty much required to attend. Lance put on his fur coat and bolted from his room through the snow to the large blue tent in the center of the village. As he pulled the fabric of the tent and entered the room, his eyes immediately looked to an older man with a lean but muscly build. His face was sculpted to possess high and prominent cheekbones with blue eyes against his tan skin. His dark brown hair mid-length hair was pulled up in a neatly constructed ponytail. Lance’s father was sitting next to the chief of the Northern water tribe who’s appearance strikingly contrasted that of his dad’s. The Northern Leader had long golden hair, some strands falling on his face and the rest was braided and tucked in a half ponytail, which seemed to fit his pale complexion. As his eyes glanced around again, he spotted a girl, she was just as light-skinned with the same violet eyes and golden hair tied in two pigtail braids. A faint blush came over his cheeks as her eyes interlocked with his. Lance’s mind went blank as he dumbfoundedly continued gawking at who he believed to be the princess of the Northern Tribe. She was breathtakingly beautiful. A deep and irritated voice pulled him out of his trance. 

“Lance, you’re late.”

Lance rapidly turned to look at his father who was eyeing him with a frustrated and annoyed expression. He was definitely getting a scolding after the meeting, ‘cmon’ Lance, come up with a good excuse, or you’re dead.'

“Hey, dad… uh, so funny story about that… there was actually a wild polar bear wolf coming towards the village, and I single-handedly wrestled it away from-“

He heard a muffled giggle, as his father spoke over him.

“Sit down Lance.”

Lance crossed his arms and pouted as he noticed the blonde princess smiling at him. Well, that brightened his mood, at least _someone_ appreciated his sense of humor. He shot her a returning grin and walked past his father to the open area on the rug beside her and took a seat.

“Well hello there, The name’s Lance.”

The Princess laughed and said, “Well Lance, my name is Nyma, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, believe me, the pleasure’s all mine.”

“Ahem.” Lance’s father cut their conversation short as he rose to speak

“As I was saying before Chief Metok, after my son returns from the Fire Nation and has mastered firebending, he will then be wed to your lovely daughter Nyma.”

Lance spoke.

“Wait… wed? As in married? In matrimony?! How late was I to this meeting?!”

He felt everyone’s eyes on him. The room filled with a weighted silence, Nyma was the first to break it.

“Is there a problem?”

Lance turned to see her gaze on him.

“Well no, not with you of course princess, but I just…” He had taken a few deep breaths and lowered his head before he took a minute to calm himself down. He lifted his head up again, finally ready to speak.

“No, no problem at all.” His voice was more confident, He stood proudly and determined “I would be honored to take your daughter as my wife sir.”

Metok finally spoke.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but for what It’s worth, I’m glad to be handing my daughter over to such a fine young man.”

“Thank you, sir. She will be well taken care of.”

Lance took a bow in front of the chief and sat back down beside his soon to be wife. He turned his head to sneak a glance at his father who was already staring at him. He shot Lance a smile and nod of approval. Seemingly pleased with the grace and poise of which his son his handled the situation. The eighteen-year-old let out a sigh of relief. So maybe he wasn’t going to be scolded after all.

The meeting ended soon after, with both chiefs shaking hands and saying their goodbyes. Everyone seemed to be happy with the outcome and the impending wedding soon to come. Even his betrothed seemed pleased, and Lance, couldn’t really understand it. He was terrified, he honestly believed he was too young to be married. Nyma was around the same age as him, and she seemed completely fine with the idea. As he walked back through the snow to his room, the reason became apparent. His mind drifted to his father and how proud he looked when he had obliged to the request. He knew he and Nyma had a civic duty to their families and people as prince and princess of their respective tribes. This was for their families and nations, it was never going to be their choice. Not that Lance didn’t like Nyma necessarily, he considered himself very lucky to have a bride as lovely as her. The problem was that the young prince had only just met her and well, he didn’t love her. Lance had always hoped he would get the choice to marry the one he loved, someone who he got to know first.The idea of jumping into it this way, it pained him that he wouldn’t have that choice. He thought about the meeting and wondered if Nyma also felt the same, but was better at hiding it. However, from what he saw, She seemed to find him charming, they had shared a few laughs at the meeting, and they appeared to get along pretty well. Thinking about her laugh and the gleam in her violet eyes when she looked at him, gave him a sense of hope and optimism. Lance smiled and began to think that maybe he could fall in love with her. 

* * *

 

“Prince Kogane, your father requests your presence.”

“Please, stop being so formal with me Shiro. You know how much I hate it.”

Shiro laughed at the dark haired and significantly smaller eighteen-year-old boy lying down on his bed. The prince wouldn’t take his eyes off the ceiling refusing to look at the twenty-five-year-old general who he now saw as his adopted older brother.

“Would you prefer I tickle you to death, so you’ll actually wake up.”

Scratch that, adopted _annoying_ and _irritating_ older brother. Keith rolled over on his stomach and threw his head into the pillow and let out a muffled response.

“No. But you can tell my dad he can shove his request in his-“

“Keith, it's important.”

“Quiznack… Fine, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Thank you, Keith.”

With that, Shiro left the prince’s quarters and left Keith on his own. He pressed his palms to the mattress and lifted his weight upwards into an upright seating position and swung his legs over the edge onto the ground. Keith lifted his body off the bed and walked to the closet a few feet in front of him. He then grabbed the handle and opened the closet door and stared up at his crimson and gold hooded robe. He pulled it out and placed it on his nightstand as he pulled off his white tank top and maroon trousers. The eighteen-year-old put his arms through the holes of the robe and tied it around his waist. He didn’t bother to comb through his messy hair and instead just pulled it into a small ponytail. It was only to his father, after all, it's not like he had to go in his formal fire nation armor attire and crown.

Keith headed down the narrow hallway of his building and towards the botanical gardens outside. From the hall railings, he could see the glistening grass and shimmering ponds as well as the turtleducks swimming around. He noticed a few of them waddling through the grass towards a larger turtle duck which he realized was their mother. The three turtleducklings opened their beaks and jumped around most likely waiting to be fed. Keith smiled as he watched the mother turtleduck pull a few worms from the ground and drop one in front of each turtle duckling. Watching the scene filled Keith with a warm feeling but it also filled him with a sad sort of emptiness. They were lucky to still have their mother.

Keith had only been around seven years old when it happened. He had gone to bed after a day of firebending training, and she came to say goodnight as she blew out the candle by his bedside. He didn’t know that was the last night he would see her again. Keith woke up the next morning to find two men speaking in the hallway. The one turned away from him had his shoulder-length hair pulled up into a top-knot bun, holding his crown hairpiece in place. The one facing him had golden eyes which complimented his dark charcoal colored hair. He was much taller and powerfully built than the first man, and his skin tone was slightly darker as well.  He noticed that the man turned away from him was his father speaking with general Zarkon, who was the man facing him. He caught a glimpse of his father's eyes as he looked down and noticed the distraught expression and the tears in his eyes. The general gave his report.

“There’s nothing we can do Fire Lord Thace. I’m sorry.. but Kana is nowhere to be found.”

The fire lord said in a shaky voice.

“Why would she leave so suddenly?

“Dad?”

Thace turned around to see his son standing in the hallway, his eyes widened, and he turned back and motioned to Zarkon that he was relieved of his duties. Then he turned back to Keith and whispered quietly.

“Keith, what are you doing awake so early?”

“Where’s mom? Did she go somewhere?”

The Fire Lord held back his tears and put on a fake smile as he walked towards his son. He crouched down to match the boy’s height and took his hand as he said.

“Your mother…”

The older man hesitated as he looked into his son’s wide violet eyes and noticed the tears forming. He couldn’t tell his son the truth. Not yet.

“Your mother left to attend important Fire Lady duties in the Earth Kingdom. She might be there for a long while, but she’ll be back.”

Keith’s face visibly lit up as he gave his father a wide grin

“Okie dokie! I hope she comes back home soon, I invented this really cool firebending move I want to show her!”

Thace smiled at his son and ruffled his hair as he stood back up. He let out a hearty laugh.

“Go back to your room and wash up, breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Okay, dad!”

Keith kept patiently waiting, for the woman who gave him her violet eyes, pale skin and dark brown silky hair. For the day she would return home again. Almost eleven years had passed since then, and she was still nowhere to be seen. As Keith looked down at the turtleducks once again, a sick and bitter feeling welled up in his stomach. He furrowed his brow, while the lingering sense of anger, frustration, and blame, all came crashing back down on him. To be quite honest, Keith was ready to burn the entire garden, but his self-restraint got the best of him. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then began walking back towards his destination.

Keith finally reached his father’s study. He stopped in the middle of the doorway and leaned against the ledge as he watched his old man reading an old novel. While he knew it was rude to interrupt, the prince wasn’t the one who requested his father’s presence.

“So. What’s this about dad?”

The Fire Lord looked up from his book and locked his golden eyes with the violet irises of his son’s.

“Oh Keith, I was beginning to believe you wouldn’t show up.”

“Yeah well that was my plan originally, but one of your pesky generals wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Thace snickered at the remark. He had sent Shiro knowing that the general would be the only one to actually get Keith to wake up without his son burning his hair off. But this wasn’t what he needed to tell the young prince.

“You know of the Avatar yes?

Keith let out an unimpressed sigh.

“How could I not, but what does this have to do with anything?”

“Well… The new avatar needs a firebending teacher.”

“Okay now, what does that have to do with me?”

His father exhaled and put a hand to his forehead.

“I’ve assigned you to train him, you’re the most powerful firebender in the entire nation.”

“And by no means am I am I allowed to refuse, correct?”

“Keith.”

His son laughed and shot his father a toothy grin.

“Don’t worry dad, I’m just messing with you. I guess I’ll train him.”

Thace smiled at his son and spoke.

“Thank you, son.”

“Of course dad.”

Keith assumed the meeting was over and turned around to walk back to his quarters. Time to finally get some more sleep-

“Oh and Keith.”

The prince swirled his head back to look at Thace again who had a smug look on his face.

“What else is there?”

“He should be arriving tomorrow afternoon.”

“Ah, quiznack!”                                                                                                             


	2. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is the Avatar, as well as the prince of the Southern Water Tribe and boy, does it suck. His life has been an endless list of responsibilities and now an arranged marriage has been added to that list. But before he can marry the princess of the Northern Water Tribe and fulfill the duties to his family and nation, Lance has to travel to the Fire Nation and master firebending. And who better to teach the arrogant, and talkative avatar than the hotheaded and stubborn prince of the fire nation. What could go wrong right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh thank you for all the Kudos and kind comments guys!! I'm sorry I couldn't update this chapter earlier. Work has been crazy and so have other personal struggles in my life. But thankfully I got that taken care of today so I could give you the next chapter as soon as possible. You all should definitely read the first part of the chapter with the song link I'll post. I'll place it in the chapter where you should begin to listen. I hope you enjoy this one!! <3

“Are you sure you have everything, sweetie? Do you want me to pack you extra whale jerky? It’ll be a long trip.”

Lance beamed a reassuring smile at the woman in front of him. She was now much shorter than he remembered and her features lost their youthful glow. But even with the passing years leaving marks of wrinkles and laugh lines on her face, Lance still believed his mother was one of the most beautiful women in their entire tribe. Her eyes weren’t blue like her husband’s or son’s, but they held the richest shade or hazel mixed with the gold rays of the sun. However, she did share he and his father’s skin tone and hair, but unlike the straight strands of theirs, her hair contained tousled waves that could rival the ocean’s itself.

“It’ll be okay mom. Besides, I’ve got Blue with me!”

**(authors note: start the music here)**

[Lance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj-AgkXLYok) turned to look at the animal companion beside him. Blue was a snow leopard he had found one day while he was out practicing his waterbending. While his father had gone hunting and his mother was tending to the sick in the healing hut, a five-year-old, mischievous Lance had snuck out to see if he could catch a fish with his waterbending.

“Aw c’mon you stupid water! Just one fish.”

He extended both his hands out in front of him and watched the water below. Not long after he spotted a guppy swirling around in the pool. Slowly bringing his hands down and lifting them upwards he tried to lift the water up. Lance couldn’t hold up the water long enough and with the guppy, it came crashing back down into the freezing, salty sea.

Several failed attempts made him think that maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a waterbender after all. He had almost given up until his eyes landed on a lost snow leopard cub in the distance. She was crouched down by the ice with her paw in the water. He saw the feline attempt to catch the pesky fish and realized he wasn’t the only one struggling. The wild cat must have noticed Lance’s eyes on him because she stopped and turned her head towards him. As their eyes met, Lance realized her eyes were blue as well. He shot a toothy grin at the leopard and exclaimed.

“Whoah. You have the same eye color as me!”

The cub tilted her head in confusion but didn’t look away or run. The young prince saw this as a sign that he could come closer. He started walking towards the leopard and crouched down beside her while tilting his head to stare down at the water.

“They sure are hard to catch huh...”

The spotted feline pulled her ears down as she reverted her own eyes back down at the sea, purring in agreement.

When her stomach kept grumbling, Lance wondered how long she had gone without food. His smile slowly faded, and he turned his head to look at his small hands. The young boy furrowed his brows, and a determined expression came across his features. He rose up from his crouch and straightened his posture. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and extended his arms out again.

Lance knew what he had to do.

He kept his eyes closed to give him a heightened sense of hearing and gave himself time to listen to the moments of the water. Every ripple and wave, every current and tide, it became apparent. He located a school of fish knowingly trying to swim away in hopes of escape. While bringing his right arm back towards him, he managed to hold the fish in place with the surrounding water. He tried lifting his arm up hoping it would work to pull the water out this time. As he continued to concentrate, he began to not only hear the ocean…

But also the wind.

Lance’s scrunched up features changed to a smug grin as he snickered to himself when realizing the solution.

He extended his right arm over his left, moving both of them in a counterclockwise motion. With each circle, he would lift his arms higher. The water slowly began to rise and form into a giant swirling orb with the fish still swimming around inside. He decided he could use the wind and air around the water as a cushion to help him hold the sphere. He bended the air around him to spin around the globe as he pulled it closer. The cub was stared at him in awe. Once the sphere of water was above the ice, Lance opened his eyes and slowly moved his arms out of the circular motions and lowered them gently with the orb. It splashed in the ice in front of the white feline.

“There you go kitty, hope this will keep you full for a while.”

The boy smiled as he watched the cub jump around and devour the fish he caught. He stopped to look at his hands, and it took him a moment to process the fact that-

“Wait a second… I just waterbended…”

The five-year-old almost couldn’t believe it. He had to look back at the now well-fed snow leopard cub still eating the dinner Lance had provided him with.

He just couldn’t contain his excitement as he threw his fist in the air.

“Holy whale jerky, I just waterbended! Yes!”

Suddenly, he felt a light nudge on the back of his leg. He turned around and saw the snow leopard plopped down in front of him shooting some fish towards his feet as an offering. Lance rotated his entire body around to face the cub as he kneeled down and picked up the fish. He looked at the raw fish in disgust and considered refusing the offer, but the wild kitten was staring at him with her large blue gleaming eyes full of affection. He couldn’t resist those eyes, he just couldn’t. He brought the fish closer and bit into its stomach, forcefully swallowing down the meat as he looked back at the small animal. He shot her a nervous smile entirely unaware of the leopard’s next move. She pounced on his chest sending him crashing into the snow. It seemed as though the boy didn’t need to shake the snow off his face, the feline did all the work for him as she licked it clean. Lance kept pleading with her to stop in between giggles as he struggled to get back up. After at least twenty licks, the feline decided to let Lance breathe again. The young boy rose up as he patted the snow off his pants and fur coat. He looked back at the snow leopard who was staring up at him eagerly, then turned to look at the sky. It was getting late.

“I should probably head back now kitty.”

He turned his body to walk back on the path to his igloo, tilting his head back to see the feline’s wide-eyed expression turn to sadness.

“Well, what are you waiting for, cmon!”

The cub became excited as she ran to his side. The two walked back to the igloo as they watched the sky turn from light blue to a bright pink. As he turned back to look at the leopard, Lance realized he didn’t have a name for her yet.

“I’m going to call you Blue.”

A much larger version of the spotted white feline he remembered started purring as she rubbed her head against the side of his thigh, pulling Lance out of his flashback. He said his goodbyes to his family and tribe as he set aboard the airship. The young avatar felt the slight breeze through his hair and looked forward to the sunrise ahead, feeling the warmth of its rays on his skin.

“I have a feeling we’ll like the Fire Nation, Blue.

 

* * *

 

“You’re up early, Keith.”

“Yeah well, don’t get too excited dad, I just want to take Red out on a walk is all.”

Red was a Bengal tiger Keith had received as a gift from his father. When he turned ten years old, Keith grew tired of the constant protection of his guards. He told his father that he could take care of himself and didn’t need people constantly following him around but in his father’s eyes, the boy was still young. The Fire Lord realized he had become overprotective of his son ever since he had lost his mother, and Keith changed as well, he angered easier and grew agitated often. The Fire Lord knew he couldn't keep Keith sheltered forever, he recognized that his son also needed to be independent eventually. Thace could tell the boy wasn’t too keen on being cooped up around the palace, even if it was massive. He wondered what he could do to keep him safe as well as cheer him up a bit.

“Fire Lord Thace, General Drax requests your assistance.”

Thace looked up to see the seventeen-year-old soldier in training Takashi Shirogane. Shiro was an orphan, he had been ever since he turned eleven. The Fire Lord remembered going on a carriage ride date with his wife. Keith was at home being watched by the nanny for the day so they two could enjoy some quality time as husband and wife. As the carriage passed through the town, they came across a twelve-year-old boy with a black panther cub knocking on people’s doors. He must’ve been begging for food or a place to stay. That's when his wife spoke.

“Stop the carriage.”

When the wheeled vehicle came to a halt, Thace watched as Kana rushed outside toward the two. The Fire Lord sighed as he rose from his seat and walked on after her. The Fire Lady had kneeled to the ground to match the boy’s level of height. Not at all caring about the dirt and grime on the cement sidewalk getting on her dress. The Fire Lord silently thought to himself and smiled. ' _Classic Kana.'_

He moved closer to the two so he could hear what she had to say to the boy.

“What’s your name darling?”

“Takashi Shirogane, but well… I guess you can call me Shiro.”

Shiro looked like an intelligent kid with a good heart. He appeared to be someone who never seemed to lose hope no matter how bad things got. His hair was charcoal dark and complimented his pale skin tone. His eyes were a deep gray, but they weren’t dull. They carried a whirlwind of emotions such as pain but also self-reliance and control, doubt, but also determination, weakness but also strength. This kid could get through anything. Thace turned his head to see the black panther cub in front of the boy in a protective stance. He heard his wife speak once again.

“And what’s this little guy’s name?”

“That’s Black, and she’s actually a girl miss.”

Thace chuckled.

He looked back to the older seventeen-year-old dark haired boy in his office, as well as the larger black panther beside him. He remembered how protective Black was of Shiro when they first met. She was ready to fight if it meant risking her own life to protect his. The Fire Lord made up his mind.”

“Tell the general I’ll be there soon.”

“Very well sir.”

“Oh and one more thing, Keith’s birthday is coming up soon, and I’m thinking of getting him a pet.”

Shiro smiled and turned to look at Black.

“Well, I think a big cat of some sorts would fit Keith well. He’s only been wanting one since he met Black.”

“Thank you, Shiro.”

“Of course sir.”

Shiro had taken a bow before he left the room.

Thace smiled and looked back down at his reading when he heard a whisper.

“I hear he _really_   wants a Bengal tiger.”

Thace could barely suppress his laughter.

When Keith received Red, she was a bit temperamental at first and stubborn to accept her new owner. But this didn't discourage the eleven-year-old. Keith was determined to earn the cub's trust. 

"Here kitty, I have a nice cooked fish for you!"

Red inched her head closer and took a whiff of the fish and turned her head in disgust. Keith pouted as he thought about what other food he could give her then noticed a packet of firecrackers on the table near him. Keith smirked to himself as he ran to to pick up the packet. He took a handful and kneeled down beside the tiger cub. Turns out Keith's instinct was right. As soon as Red caught the scent of the snacks, she gravitated towards it and didn't leave a single firecracker in Keith's palm. She looked up at him with her golden eyes and purred as she rubbed her head on the boy's chest. The young prince took this as a sign of acceptance and returned the feline's affections by petting her fur gently.

"Good kitty."

 

* * *

 

 “Welcome to the Fire Nation Avatar Lance.”

“Yeah the greeting is nice and all, but where’s the nearest bathroom!”

General Shiro looked to his soldiers in confusion as he scanned the beach for any sign of a restroom.

“Uh. Can you hold it?”

“Probably, I don’t know. It sort of depends.”

Shiro looked back up the cliff and spotted a nearby town.

“I guess that will do. We can lead you to the village.”

“Thank you, General… uhh”

Lance scanned the armor for a nametag or clue. Some kind of identification. The older man laughed at the young avatar’s attempts at finding out his name.

“Shiro, the name’s Shiro.”

“Well nice to meet you, General Shiro.”

“You as well avatar.”

 

* * *

 

Keith walked with Red into a nearby town by the palace. His hair was tied up in a ponytail, and he was dressed in a simple scarlet tunic with a merlot colored vest on top. The vest had gold colored lining as well as a belt in the same color. Underneath the vest he wore dark brown mundane pants with black and gold boots. He chose a relatively simple outfit hoping not to draw too much attention to himself. As important as his position was, he never wanted the fame or attention that came along with it. He looked at his side to the large feline walking beside him. Thank the spirits having giant cats as pets in the Fire Nation was somewhat considered normal.

As Keith and Red wandered around the town, the two spotted a familiar building. Keith smiled as he entered his longtime friend’s tea shop.

“Hey, Keith! Long time no see buddy. Old man keeping you cooped up in the palace?”

“I could say the same to you.”

Keith took a moment to look at his old comrade. Rolo was only two years older than him, but the bags under his eyes made him appear much older. The prince began to wonder what may have happened to change him. The last time Keith had seen Rolo was only about a year ago. However, the twenty-year old’s once light brown hair was starting to turn white, and his tan skin had lost its former glow. The violet iris’ of is eyes had also lost their vibrant hue and held a severe tiredness. Keith shook away those thoughts and told himself it must’ve been from working the tea shop so often. After all, customers are difficult to deal with. Yeah, that must’ve been it.

“You okay man?”

Rolo’s raspy voice pulled the eighteen-year-old out of his mind.

“Y-Yeah. I'm all right.”

“So, will it still be the lavender tea, or have your taste buds finally started working correctly?”

“Hey, it has a lot of health benefits!”

Rolo snickered as he got the boiling water ready to prepare the tea.

“Yeah yeah, still don’t know how you can drink this stuff but they're your taste buds.”

“I guess I was wrong, you haven't changed.”

Rolo’s hesitated for a second before pouring the hot water in the cup. Keith noticed the sudden change in body language.

“No. No, I haven't.”

Before the prince could open his mouth to speak, he felt the door behind him slam into the back of his head.

 

* * *

 

“So the bathroom is in there?”

“Yes, once you enter it’ll be on your right.”

“Perfect! Can you watch Blue? I’ll be right back.”

“Uh-“

Before Shiro could respond, Lance made a run for the building which he was fairly certain was a tea shop. He got to the counter and politely asked the server if he could use the restroom. Once he got a nod, he quickly opened the door and found a stall.

Once he was finished, he went to the sink and washed his hands. After drying them, Lance walked to where the exit was and gripped the doorknob. As he opened the door, he felt it make contact with something and heard a loud thud on the other side.

“Ahhh!”

Lance quickly stepped out of the doorway to see a boy, around the same age as he sprawled on the floor rubbing the back of his head. He was pale with long dark hair that oddly complimented his skin tone. As the boy opened his eyes, Lance could see the lilac specs and shades of violet around his pupils. If the young avatar was being honest with himself, he definitely considered him attractive. But those thoughts weren’t exactly helping the circumstance he was in.

“Oh my spirits, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean-“

The boy groaned as he tried to get up.

“Ugh, it’s fine, just be more careful next time.”

“At least let me help you-”

“I don’t need your help.”

Keith held up his hand as he brought his knees up and lifted his weight up to look at the person that could’ve very well given him a concussion. He looked around the same age as him and was maybe an inch or two taller in height. The boy had short dark brown hair to match his tan sunkissed skin, he had a sharp chin and jawline. Keith looked at his thin eyebrows and glanced down into his wide eyes. He almost forgot how to breath when he looked into the irises that seemed to hold the ocean inside them. ‘ _Really Keith, this guy slammed a door into the back of your head, and you’re thinking about his eye color?”_

Right. Not the time for gay thoughts.

“Well excuse me for trying to help.”

“What you should be doing is apologizing.”

“How in the spirit world would I know you were behind that door! It’s not like I have X-ray vision and can see through walls you know!”

“Are you serious right now?”

Well, whatever attraction they both felt was definitely gone now.

“Yeah, I am, and I don’t think I’m at fault here!” Lance exclaimed as he crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

“Say whatever you gotta to make yourself feel better, but it’s Still. Your. Fault.”

“I really should’ve slammed that door harder!”

“And maybe I should burn your face off!”

“BURN THE HAIRCUT FIRST, MULLET!”

“Calm down!”

The boys hadn’t realized they had gotten so close to each other that they could feel the other’s breathing on their skin. Rolo had to finally get in between them to stop a fight from happening in his shop. Keith was the first to pull away.

“I don’t have time to waste on you.”

Lance turned his back to Keith and crossed his arms again.

“Yeah well the feeling’s mutual.”

Keith ignored him as he walked towards Red who had been sleeping in the corner but seemed to be woken up to their banter. He motioned for her to follow him out the store. He turned back to say goodbye to Rolo but offered Lance no such parting.

Lance muttered to himself as he also turned to leave the building. The two walked in opposite directions but whispered similar words to themselves.

“Thank the spirits I never have to see that stupid mullet again.”

“What an arrogant prick. Glad, I never have to deal with that again.”

Or so they thought.

* * *

 

The song is [Promise by Thomas Bergersen ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj-AgkXLYok).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I left it off there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also yes, I will be putting up more song links in chapters for you to listen and read along to. Especially in action or training scenes (which are coming soon). The next chapter will probably be longer and I will try to work on it tomorrow as well as Saturday, so I can post it up by Sunday night. With that said, I wish you all a happy winter break and happy holidays!! ^_^


	3. We Change Like Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY. I've been having a very stressful two weeks in terms of physical and mental health. This chapter was one of the most challenging to write for me because of all those issues. It's been stressful but I'm so happy to finally show you this chapter. I'm extremely proud of it and I think you'll enjoy it! I will link the tracks in the fic. You will very likely need to repeat the second track since it's a bit too short for the scene but it still works I promise!! I worked on some really cool animations as well to give you some visuals.

When Shiro was assigned his duties for the day, he never imagined chasing down the avatar’s snow leopard through the small fire nation village would be one of them.

Lance had handed over Blue to general before he made a beeline to the tea shop in search of a restroom. As he watched the boy run to the store, Shiro looked to his right at the seemingly calm feline.

“Shouldn’t be too hard.”

He spoke too soon.

In mere seconds Blue was running towards a moving cart full of warm smoked salmon manned by a very terrified and shocked salesman. Shiro alerted his men as they bolted after the troublesome snow leopard gone astray. The two raced past almost every building in the town as Shiro, and the others tried to desperately catch up. They finally got to an alleyway in between two apartment buildings and saw the salesman on the ground with the cart flipped to the side. The fish were scattered on the floor and were gobbled up one by one by a very hungry snow leopard. The salesman rubbed his forehead as he whirled his head to stare horrified at the scene to his right.

“My Smoked Salmon!”

Shiro quickly ran over and extended a hand to help the man get back on his feet as he apologized for the mess.

“Sir, I apologize for what happened. I have connections to the royal palace. Rest assured you will be paid in full for the fish.”

“Ah well, as long as I don’t lose my sales, there was no harm done.”

“Thank you, sir. It won’t happen again.”

The salesman watched the feline stick her head in the pile of fish and grab three more with her teeth. She let out a small purr of satisfaction and grinned at the two of them as the salesman cocked his head back and let out a hearty laugh.

“I think she’s starting to grow on me.”

He walked over to the feline and pet the top of her head as she purred. The general watched the scene with a perplexed expression on his face which quickly turned into a snicker as he commented.

“She’s full of surprises, most likely like her owner.”

“Well, tell her owner that they’re welcome to my kiosk anytime.”

“Thank you, I’m sure the avatar would appreciate your service.”

“The avatar?!”

“Yes sir, now we should get back before he notices we were gone.”

At the mention of Lance, Blue grabbed a few more fish as she ran to the general’s side. Shiro’s men appeared soon after and helped lift the cart back up as Shiro, waved goodbye to the merchant. Shiro, Black, and Blue headed back to the shop, and his men were not too far behind. Lance walked out of the shop back to where Shiro and the remaining soldiers were. Right on time.

“Hey Shiro, I hope Blue didn’t give you too much trouble.”

The general turned to the snow leopard on his side eating a small pile of fish in front of her.                         

“Nope. No trouble at all…”

“Uh, where did she get the fish-“

“No time to explain, we have to go to the palace.”

“Oh right! C’mon Blue, let’s go see what this fire prince guy is like.”

Shiro watched as Blue finished the last remaining fish and spit out its skeleton onto the cement as she ran to Lance’s side. When the feline turned back to smile smugly at him, the general brought two of his fingers to his eyes and back to her.

“I’m watching you, snowflake.”

* * *

 

The walk to the palace was relatively short for both parties.

Keith and Red snuck back into the palace from the back spa room while Lance and Blue were escorted in by Shiro and his men from the front gates.

The young prince and his tiger hurried back to their bedroom, and Red went to the corner on her pillow to wait for her owner to get changed into his royal attire.

The prince’s quarters were wide and spacious with enough room to hold a queen sized bed as well as a silk pillow fit for the large feline. Keith tied most of his hair up into a top knot bun and placed a high flame shaped crown headpiece on the back. Some strands from his bangs fell onto his face as he opened the closet to pull out his maroon undershirt as well as the mahogany gold lined shoulder pad armor and belt. As the eighteen-year-old finished changing. He heard his father in the throne room, welcoming the distinguished guest. Which was his cue to head over.  
  
“Time to go meet this avatar guy Red.”

The tiger got up from her pillow and followed Keith through the hallway to the throne room. As he got closer to his destination, he began to hear his father’s voice more clearly.

“You will begin firebending training tomorrow at dawn.”

“Nice! So wait, who’s my teacher?”

Wait. That voice. Keith could’ve sworn. 

“Is he usually so late to these things?”

Oh no. Unfortunately, Keith’s suspicions were correct. He stepped into the light of the throne room and landed his eyes on the familiar brunet, tan male in front of him.

“You’re the Avatar?!”

Lance turned his head to the right to address the person who spoke. His eyes widened as he clearly identified the familiar face he had just met earlier that day.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re the prince of the Fire Nation?!”

The Fire Lord raised his voice to speak.

“You two have met before?”

Keith didn’t bother to respond, instead, angled his body towards his father.

“You’re going to have to find him another teacher.”

“You must think very highly of yourself if you believed I would even let you be my firebending instructor.”

“I would rather train a fish to walk on land than train the likes of you.”

“Well, you aren’t much of a pleasure to be around either buddy.”

“I wasn’t the one who slammed a door in the back of your head.”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, you kind of deserved it, your princeliness.”

“You never even bothered to apologize!”

“Because I didn’t have to, It was an accident!”

“Why are you so infuriating?!”

“Why are you such a pretentious basta-“

“Enough!”

Keith and Lance whirled their heads towards the source of the heavy voice. It was General Takashi who broke the tension. He moved to stand next to the frustrated Fire Lord.

“Your honor, I will take your son’s place as the avatar’s firebending instructor.”

Thace sighed as he started massaging his forehead.

“That seems like the best course of action. Lance, you will begin training under Takashi Shirogane tomorrow morning. Keith, you are relieved of your duties, go to your quarters.”

“Thank you, father.”

“Spoiled brat.”

Keith turned back to glare at the young avatar who already had his eyes on him.

“Excuse me?”

“Keith!”

The Fire Lord made stern eye contact with his son as a signal that enough was enough. Through the corner of his eye, Keith could see the avatar’s smug expression. The prince gritted his teeth and bowed as he exited the room with a sour taste in his mouth. Lance followed suit as he and Blue were escorted by Shiro out of the throne room to the guest quarters. The room held a queen-sized bed with white sheets and red pillows. His duffle bag was placed in the corner of the bed and across from it was a red and gold lined pad for Blue. Lance said goodbye to Shiro and slid the door to close and plopped onto the bed. He took a while to unpack his water tribe clothing. He realized half of the clothes packed were too warm for the climate of the central island.

“Great... as if I haven’t had a bad enough day already.”

He noticed the closet to the right of his bed and became curious. He got up from the bed and walked towards it. As he clicked the door open, his eyes landed on a wide selection of garments with hangers, but every single one held the same color scheme.

“Is everything here red and gold?”

After a while, the eighteen-year-old decided to explore the palace. It only made sense to go look around considering he would be staying there for what could be months. Before he left his room, he said goodnight to Blue and let her rest, then walked across the hallway. He walked past a few rooms that seemed to belong to some of the royal guards and found an exit outside. As he stepped out of the building, he noticed a walkway to a garden. Quietly, Lance made his way to the vast garden which held a large pond with clear blue water that reflected the night sky as well as the full moon above him. Lance softly smiled as he gazed into the water. Sure he was the avatar, master of all four elements. Well… so far only three elements, but out of those three, water was the one he held most dear. The tranquility it brought, the serenity and calmness as well as adaptable and flexible nature, Lance could relate to that. It was his nature as well. Being the Avatar was great and all, but it held a tremendous responsibility. When he found out it was his duty to fulfill that role, he was excited, but also apprehensive. His smile began to fade. The world relied on him to make sacrifices. Sacrifices such as being away from his family so often like now. He was forced to change and adapt to the circumstances.

Just as water always does.

[The](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTXCu3kIu88) sounds of ladybug crickets chirping and raven owls cooing made him aware of where he was. As much as he wished to be back at the South Pole, he had obligations to his family, and tribe, as well as all the four nations of the world. Lance knew starting tomorrow, he would begin his firebending training. He remembered the promise he made to his family to uphold the wedding between the water tribes, and that the sooner he mastered firebending, the better.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun as well.

Meanwhile, in the prince’s quarters, Keith was moving around and shaking in his sleep. He woke up abruptly in a cold sweat and started hyperventilating. He calmed himself down as he kept muttering the words.

“It was just a nightmare…”

He looked to his left to see Red still snuggled up in her warm pillow.

“At least one of us is getting some sleep.”

With that, he quietly pulled the crimson blanket off of him and changed into his casual attire as he decided to take a midnight stroll along the palace walls. As Keith stepped outside, he noticed bright rays of light coming from behind the building across the courtyard. He became curious and tiptoed closer. Keith had remembered that he, unfortunately, left his dagger under his pillow. However, he realized he didn’t need a weapon and kept his body heat warm in case he needed to conjure up a flame anytime soon. Moving across the courtyard up the stairs of the building, he scurried behind a pillar and peeked his head to see the stranger in the central garden. The stranger looked familiar, but he has faced away from him so Keith couldn’t distinguish his features. But one thing he did notice was that the person seemed to be… waterbending?

The stranger gracefully pulled a new wave of water from the pond upwards with his right hand, and it began to glow a bright cyan blue. He pulled it to his right as he angled his body slowly bringing his knee lower. The way he was posed made it easy for Keith to get a glimpse of his profile. The sharpness of his jawline, pointy nose, and short bangs reminded him of the infuriating boy in the throne room. He noticed he was still in the same clothing as well, but the difference was in the softness of his expression. Keith had never seen him so… calm. The prince wondered if that was the reason he didn’t recognize him at first.

The avatar brought his left hand over the body of water and lifted his left leg up as he pulled it upwards. Moving the water from his right with his left hand upwards then placing his left foot back down in front. Keith remembered who the person was and thought to turn back and go to his room, but his body didn’t seem to agree. A part of him was curious to see what waterbending looked like up close. He didn’t want to admit it, but finally getting the opportunity and watching the young waterbender made him speechless.

It was absolutely mesmerizing.

Every movement was precise and poised. The slow and intricately detailed movements of waterbending were so very different from power and speed required for firebending. As for Lance, well it was evident he had been a master at it for quite some time. The elegance and grace of which he held himself were apparent, the swiftness of his hand movements and the way the water flowed was captivating. Lance pushed the water to his left with his right hand and pulled it with the other. As his body turned to push the water, it began to face Keith’s direction. He diverted his attention away from the water as he locked eyes with the prince.

Keith realized Lance noticed him. His cheeks were already tinted with a light shade of rose pink but quickly reddened as he whirled his head away. Lance still held the water in place between his hands but his expression lost it were relaxed state and changed becoming visibly annoyed.

“What are you doing here?”

Keith pulled himself out of the trance and tried to think of a response. He had almost forgotten about the nightmare. Which as usual, was about his mother. He moved away from the pillar and scratched the back of his head as he looked down.

“I- uh. I couldn’t sleep.”

[Lance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRgokfsxQU4) was surprised to see the hotheaded prince’s face hold any form of expression that wasn’t anger. He pulled the water back into the pond as he noticed the sad look in the other boy’s hooded eyes. Maybe he would give him a break.

“Oh.. I see.”

Keith was still looking downwards and seemed to be lost in thought. Lance didn’t know why, but seeing the same boy who yelled at him earlier that day, didn’t make him feel satisfied. Instead, he felt the need to distract or comfort him. So without thinking the young avatar spoke.

“I decided to explore the palace grounds since I’ll be here for a while. I stumbled upon this garden and the pond” Lance looked above him at the sky. “then I noticed the full moon.”

Keith rose his head up to listen.

“The full moon?”

The waterbender paused to smile at him, glad his efforts to distract the mulleted boy were successful. Lance kneeled to sit on the grass by the pond.

“Mhmm, for waterbenders, the full moon greatly enhances our bending.”

Keith walked closer and sat down as well.

“How so?”

“Well, the moon was the first waterbender.”

“Really?” Keith looked up and furrowed his brow as he stared up at the moon with a confused expression. “How is that even possible? Isn’t the moon… a rock?”

Lance snorted and began to laugh. He giggled as he spoke. Keith looked back at the waterbender and wondered why seeing him grin because of his actions made him feel strangely warm.

“Technically you’re not wrong. But the gravity of the moon pulls and pushes the tides on Earth. It’s kind of incredible. Watching the moon is how we learned to bend.”

“Oh, well that makes sense.”

“Yep, the moon gives waterbenders insane abilities, which is why just like the tides, our bending is strongest at night. The full moon can give some benders the ability to manipulate the blood inside another person.

Keith still didn’t understand why but seeing the avatar talk so passionately about something he loved made his heart grow weak. He hated that he didn’t mind spending the entire night listening to his youthful and soft voice ramble on and on about the subject.

“That’s… kind of awesome.”

“It’s also ILLEGAL.”

“Oh…”

“You seem so disapointed and to be frankly honest, it concerns me a bit. But anyways, yeah, that’s why I wanted to waterbend at least a bit tonight. It calms my nerves. They’ve been bothering me a lot lately…”

Lance pulled his knees to his chest as he crossed and rested his arms. He placed his head in between them and stared forward with a blank but weary expression. The prince thought about what he could say to pull him out of his thoughts.

“I think firebenders have something like this as well.”

Lance his head up to look at Keith and his eyes widened as he eagerly asked him.

“What is it? Tell me!”

The young prince smiled fondly at the avatar and giggled before he answered.

“I can’t explain it really, but just like you, we also have times where our bending is enhanced.”

“When does it happen?”

“It usually happens when comets pass by. I believe the Hauxus Comet is actually set to pass by in 3 or 4 weeks. I should probably check that soon..”

“Are they like shooting stars?”

“Yeah, sort of. How long the comet takes to pass Earth depends on its size. The larger it is, the slower it is. Some firebenders can actually gain the ability to fly using the flames they bend with their feet, that is if the comet is large enough.

“What?! That’s not fair! Why do you get flying powers?!”

The prince put his hand over his mouth to hold his laughter, but he couldn’t hold it in for too long. Lance was pouting and had his arms crossed over his chest. The sight was one of the funniest things Keith had seen in a while. Lance then put his hands down and smiled.

“Well… we do get bloodbending so let’s call it even.”

Keith smugly smiled as he spoke.

“Oh, I forgot to mention. We also have the ability to bend lightning.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

Keith started laughing so hard his entire body fell back. But it didn’t last long as he felt a splash of water hit his face. He pulled himself back up to lock eyes with the snickering waterbender.

“Hey!”

“You asked for it mullet!”

The prince was visibly annoyed as he wiped the water off his face and moved to get up as he noticed the avatar was still laughing uncontrollably at him. But as he was patting the water off his clothes, he heard him speak.

“Hey, I um… I’m sorry.”

“For splashing me?”

“Well.. that, and...”

Lance gritted his teeth and hesitated. Keith crossed his arms as he shot a the waterbender a smug and satisfied look.

“Go on.”

Lance muttered the words.

“and for slamming the bathroom door in your head…”

“What’s that? I- I can’t hear you.”

“C’mon I said it once. Not saying it again.”

Keith smiled.

“I guess you’re forgiven.”

“Thank you. By the way, my name is Lance.”

‘Huh’ thought Keith ‘it fits him pretty well.’ He saw Lance shoot him a toothy grin and Keith thought his heart almost skipped a beat. He wondered how a simple smile could be so radiant. Lance’s voice pulled him out of his emotions as he spoke.

“You don’t need to tell me yours, it’s Keith, right? Your father shouted it loud enough for the entire nation to know by now.”

The eighteen-year-old prince felt a warm tinge in his cheeks and fidgeted with his vest, apparently embarrassed, but he managed to speak. “Oh yeah… right.”

“Well,” Lance got up from his seated position and stood. “I should probably head back to my room. Got an early day tomorrow.”

“I’m guessing you’re not used to waking up at the brink of dawn.”

“Nope. I feel more awake at night. I rise with the moon-“

“And I rise with the sun.”

Lance returned Keith’s smile. “Exactly.”

The two kept their eyes on each other seemingly out of breath. It was Lance who finally broke the silence.

“Goodnight Keith.”

“Yeah. Goodnight.”

Keith watched as Lance tore his gaze away from him and slowly turned to walk back up to the building. He felt the air in his lungs hitch, and he was left speechless and suddenly felt the need to see the waterbender smile at him again. As he headed back towards his quarters, all he could think of was Lance and the way the glow of the water illuminated his soft sunkissed skin, his silky dark brunet locks… the blue of his eyes that could rival the oceans. He found himself dumbfoundedly infatuated with the boy and decided, having him as a student wouldn’t have been that bad after all. Beginning to regret the childish outburst in the throne room earlier that day, Keith found himself heading to Shiro’s quarters.

Luckily for him, the twenty-five-year-old was still up reading a novel. He knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Clicking the door handle open, the eighteen-year-old spoke. “Hey, I need to talk to you.”

“Oh Keith, it’s you. What’s going on?”

Keith fidgeted with his vest as he tried to make out what he was planning to say. “Well, I um… I’ve changed my mind.”

Shiro rose an eyebrow and as he shot Keith a questioning look. “About what exactly?”

“I-well, I want to train him, the avatar- I mean…”

The general’s confused expression slowly formed into one of satisfaction.

“Really, because I recall you specifically claiming that you would ‘rather train a fish to walk on land than to train the likes of him.’”

The prince began to furiously blush as he spoke. “That’s none of your concern! Why do you always have to- Arghhh whatever.”

“Alright alright, don’t worry, I’ll let you train him.”

Shiro watched his adoptive younger brother’s entire face light up.

“Thank’s big bro.”

“Don’t mention it, now go to sleep Keith. To take my place, you actually have to wake up.”

“I know, I know! Goodnight Shiro.”

“Goodnight Keith.”

The general watched his younger brother step out of the room as he let out a chuckle. He turned to see Black share a knowing look on her face as she purred.

“Definitely, he’s in too deep.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was Chapter 3! I won't make any promises on when you can hope to see Chapter 4 but I PROMISE I will do everything I can to get it to you as soon as possible. THE TRAINING BEGINS. We got to see Lance waterbend, and next chapter you will get to see Keith be a master in his own element. ^_^


	4. And Are Passionate Like Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 3!! This next chapter will focus more on Lance the little shit that he is as well as some more "heated" development. Hehe, I hope you guys enjoy this one, as it will also explore other important aspects of the plot. Enjoy!

“He isn’t here yet?”

“Nope, he’s probably in his third dream by now.”

“I shouldn’t have expected him to wake up at the brink of dawn.”

Shiro snickered as he responded. “I’m honestly quite surprised that you managed to.”

“It’s too early for your sass Shiro.”

Keith watched as his older brother moved out of his leaning position on the pillar of the courtyard. He was dressed in a simple black tank top and gray sweats with red lining. His brother was stood across from him in a crimson vest and baggy maroon sweats with a gold belt around the waist as well as black boots. His hair was pulled into a high ponytail with bangs still set on his face. Shiro noticed his younger brother’s lack of patience and thought of an idea to keep them both distracted while the avatar also got his beauty sleep in check.

“It may be a while til he gets here Keith.”

Keith sighed. “I know.”

“Hey, don’t worry too much.” Shiro smiled as he lit a flame over his right prosthetic palm. “While we wait, why don’t we kill some time.”

Keith shot a small grin at his brother as he created a flame of his own with his left palm. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Mhmm, just a simple, fair, Agni Kai.”

“You’re on.”

 

* * *

 

As the sun shined brightly through the window of Lance’s room, the young avatar pulled the sheets over his head as he groaned. He stayed that way for a moment before suddenly feeling a weight on his chest followed by purring.

“Blue, get off me.”

Unfortunately for him, the snow leopard was just as stubborn as her owner. She instead came closer, and Lance began to feel a salivated tongue repeatedly grace the skin of his cheeks. It suddenly hit him that today was his first day of firebending training and placed Blue with the task of being his alarm clock.

“Alright, Alright, I’ll get up, but you have to move off me first!”

It seemed to persuade Blue as she pounced off the bed. She watched as Lance groggily pulled off the covers to sit upright on the bed. He pressed a hand to his forehead and rubbed his eyes as he stood up to change out of his brown baggy sweats. He reached for his sky blue sleeveless collared tank top moving it from the nightstand and over his shoulders and through his arms. After swapping his nightwear pants with another pair, Lance then said goodbye to Blue as he headed out. Lance was glad the walk to the main courtyard wasn’t too far and hoped he wasn’t late.

[As](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h78jr3WWI) he moved closer to the vast area, he noticed sudden flashes of red and yellow as well as the two men creating them. ‘Must be a firebending match’ he thought. Lance could easily tell the taller, more muscular one was General Takashi. The general’s attacks relied much more on his physical strength as must of them were powerful punches and kicks. His opponent, however… seemed to rely more on agility and speed as he was able to dodge every attack thrown at him with ease. Lance noticed the familiar head of black locks against his soft pale complexion. The eighteen-year-old couldn’t help but keep watching the prince so in tune with his element. No wonder he was considered to be the best firebender in the world, the boy was a prodigy. He watched as the prince shifted left and right, evading Shiro’s attacks and prepared his own offensive moves.

No doubt about it. Lance would know that mullet anywhere.

Even if it was pulled back into a high ponytail, which allowed the young avatar to get a good look at the prince’s features. Lance didn’t want to admit it but, he couldn’t deny that Keith was definitely attractive. The way some strands of hair fell to his cheeks, or the reflection of the bright yellow flames in his entrancing violet iris’, as well as the intimidating, yet smug smile gracing his lips, Lance began to notice every detail. His eyes slowly moved down to the toned build of his shoulders and the prominent veins of his forearms. He suddenly started to feel warm, suddenly not able to tell if the cause was the increased temperature of being near the flames or another. It certainly didn’t help that he could clearly see the glistening sweat and drops of perspiration rolling down his arms… and abs. It also didn’t’ help that Keith wiped the sweat off his forehead and the heat forced him to take off his vest and throw it to the side as he prepared another fireball. Lance could’ve sworn he lost the ability to breathe right then and there as his eyes became glued to no one but the entirely shirtless prince only a few feet away from him. His hair drenched in sweat and the sun’s glow reflecting on his skin, The chiseled six pack carved into his abdomen. Lance bit his lip in sexual frustration. The gold ties on his trousers slowly loosening and sliding down his hips, exposing the toned v-line… Spirits. Why was Keith making him feel this way? His cheeks were stained a deep shade of rose pink, and if he didn’t turn away soon, his dirty-minded thoughts would manifest into something much more noticeable in his loins.

He made a 180 and started to walk away. Lance couldn’t take it anymore, he had too many feelings he couldn’t control. Unfortunately for him, the match was near end with Keith striking Shiro down by tripping him on his back and moved to stand over him. With the spar ending, Keith turned his head and noticed the waterbender.

“Lance? How long have you been there?”

‘Shit’ was all Lance could think as he took a breath and tried to compose himself before turning to face the prince. However, the moment he saw the mulleted, shirtless, bane of his frustration, he felt as though he was being suffocated all over again. Still, he managed to croak out a response while trying not to look Keith in the eye.

“I.. um.. not too long.”

Keith began to wonder why Lance was trying so hard to avoid eye contact. He squinted his eyes in suspicion then shrugged.

“Whatever.”

He then turned back to extend a hand to help Shiro, who was eyeing the red-faced avatar with a smug, knowing look on his face. Lance noticed the general’s expression and realized he was caught red handed… well… red faced. He widened his eyes and furrowed his brow as he crossed his arms and turned his head.

“Yeah well! It was long enough to watch you jerks, do your jerkbending! Which is much less cool than waterbending by the way!”

Shiro’s expression fell flat, and he sighed as he watched Keith’s speech also change from confusion to a boiling anger.

“On second thought, you can be his teacher again Shiro.”

The general smiled as he patted his younger brother’s shoulder. “Too late Keith, no take backs.”

Lance quickly whirled his head to where Keith and Shiro were standing.

“Wait what?!”

Takashi shot a grin at the flustered waterbender as he spoke.

“Oh yeah, Sorry Lance. I forgot to mention, but Keith will now take over as your instructor.”

Lance raised his index finger as he dropped his jaw to make an objection, but no words came out. Meanwhile, Keith stood by his brother watching the way Lance was reacting to the change, and while his expression seemed to be one of anger or annoyance, he also looked slightly hurt. The prince spoke.

“Do you have a problem with it?”

Lance locked eyes with the firebender and realized his screw up. He tried to compose himself again. However, his face still flushed of pink.

“No no, there’s no issue.”

“Are you sure? You seem to be acting like-“

Lance tried to make up an excuse as he laughed nervously. “What? No! It must be the heat. I mean spirits, how hot is it out here?! How do you people not get heatstroke! I feel like I’m suffocating!”

Thankfully for Lance, it appeared to work. Keith smirked.

“Well, that makes sense now. Sorry Lance, I can’t change the temperature.”

Spirits, was Keith going to be shirtless the entire time? Lance swallowed and spoke without thinking as his voice cracked.

“I’m not entirely sure about that.”

“What?”

“Nothing!”

Keith stared at Lance’s expression, trying to look for anything that would give away what he was thinking. Shiro silently watched Keith and thought about how oblivious his younger brother was.

“General Takashi.”

All three men turned their attention to the larger man in uniform approaching them. He was dressed in fire nation armor and had his dark charcoal colored hair pulled back into a top knot bun. His cheekbones were sharp, and his jawline was wide. Though he held a blank expression, the aura surrounding him had a strangely ominous feeling. Like Takashi, the man had facial scars, and while his eyes were gold, they were dull and strained. This man had most likely been in numerous wars in his lifetime. Lance didn’t know about the others, but he for one, did not like the guy.

“Oh, Good morning general Zarkon.”

“The Fire Lord requests your presence. He wishes to discuss some important matters regarding the military.”

“Thank you, I will be there shortly.”

“Very well.”

Shiro turned to Keith and Lance and waved goodbye.

“Sorry guys, I have to go.” He watched as both Keith and Lance shot the general a look of desperation and panic. He smiled as he said. “You’ll both be fine. I promise.”

The two watched as Shiro walked farther and farther away from them and ahead of General Zarkon. Lance then locked eyes with the older man who seemed to already be watching him with curiosity. Lance wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or a bad one. Keith turned to look at Lance who had his arms crossed, eyes squinted and brows furrowed in suspicion. He noticed the waterbender was looking in Zarkon’s direction. Keith spoke up as he walked past him in the opposite direction.

“Lance, C'mon we have to begin your training.”

Lance uncrossed his arms, averted his eyes and followed Keith to the middle of the courtyard. Through the side of his eye, he watched as Zarkon also turned and followed Shiro back into the palace. Lance’s thoughts became haunted by the uncomfortable aura the older general gave off. He couldn’t help but feel like something was off about him. And why Zarkon looked so interested in him? The prince’s voice pulled him out of his mind.

“You don’t have to worry about the general. He’s my uncle.”

The avatar looked up at the firebender in curiosity. “How did you know I was-“

“You were practically strangling him with your glare.”

“I don’t like the guy.”

“Most people don’t. I mean, as his nephew, even I’ll admit he looks intimidating, but he’s generally a decent guy.”

Lance snorted as he realized. “General-ly.”

“What?”

The water tribe prince couldn’t hold it in anymore as he burst out into laughter.

“General! Generally! I can’t believe you made a pun!”

The fire prince’s face became as hot as his element. His cheeks tinged a bright red, and at that moment he suddenly realized, Lance’s laugh was the most adorable sound his ears had the pleasure of listening to. The pun wasn’t intended, but he was glad it made the young avatar laugh. Something he realized he would possibly never get tired of. ‘Shit.'

Lance let out the last of his chuckles and sent Keith a soft smile as he spoke. “Thank you, Keith. I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

Keith tried to compose himself and smiled before he spoke. “Well, um… I’m glad.”

Lance shot Keith a toothy grin and winked “So what’s our first lesson, firebending master?”

The fire prince crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. “Let's start with the basics.”

 

* * *

 

 Shiro had changed into his fire nation armor as he and Black walked through the hallway to meet with the Fire Lord. Soon enough, they reached their destination and opened the tall gilded door as they entered the throne room. Their eyes looked up at the Fire Lord who was seated on the red and gold throne with his body leaned to the right, as the side of his face was resting atop the knuckles on his hands. The general and his panther had bowed before they spoke.

“Your Highness.”

Thace smiled at his adopted son. “Shiro, no need to be so formal with me when no one is around. We’ve gone over this, my boy.”

Shiro quickly stood up.“Sorry father, the force of habit.”

“Don’t fret, it’s quite alright. Now, I need to speak to you about our special visitor.”

“The avatar?”

“Yes, I have some concerns.”

Shiro raised a brow in curiosity. “What kind’s of concerns father.”

Thace gestured for Shiro to come closer so he could lower his voice in case there were prying ears outside the walls of the throne room. “You know of the avatar’s power.”

Shiro suddenly widened his eyes in understanding. “Yes, sir.”

“That Shiro… is my concern.” The Fire Lord paused before continuing. “We cannot let his power fall into the wrong hands. He is only eighteen years old and if seen by devious eyes, can be easily manipulated.”

Shiro nodded his head in agreement as he let Thace continue.

“I need you to keep a close eye on him, as well as my boy. I have a strange feeling that their lives are at risk. You are the most clever and capable soldier and the one I place the most trust in. That is why I am specifically assigning this task to you.”

The young general nodded his head once again.

“I won’t let you down. You have my word.”

“Thank you, Shiro.”

 

* * *

 

While the meeting between the general and Fire Lord took place, there was also another nearby

Outside the Palace gates, inside the nearby village. The two strangers met in an alleyway behind an abandoned apartment. While the shadows masked their features, their silhouettes remained unhidden. The first man had a tall and broad body type compared to the other man who was shorter and much more lean in build.

“What information do you have about the avatar?”

“Well… he’s the son of Tolak and Sala, chief, and chieftess of the Southern Water Tribe. He’s eighteen years of age, and will become the next leader, once he’s done mastering firebending.”

“So fire is his last element to master.”

“Yes sir, he has mastered all the other three, as well as his avatar state.”

“Hmm… What else do you know?”

The shorter man pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“He is set to be wed when he returns. To the princess of the Southern Water Tribe.”

The taller man’s deep voice rose as his smugness could be heard from the tone of his voice. “Oh! Well isn’t that something.”

The other man seemed to nod “Mhmm…”

“This should be very, very interesting.”             

* * *

                                                    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I only had one track in this chapter. I decided to keep it a bit brief, didn't want to give too much away. Chapter 5 will be coming soon as well!! I will begin writing it tomorrow, so it will be posted this week. I'm going to do my best to update more. I plan to make this fic 15-20 chapters. Thank you for reading, as well as all the sweet comments and kudos!! See you next chapter!!


	5. Move as Fast as the Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! I know it's been a while since my last update but I'm finally getting into the flow of things with this fic thanks to my awesome new beta Stacie!! (Her tumblr is @suachun1 if you want to follow her, she's also an amazing artist and one of my best friends so go follow her!!) This chapter was originally meant to be 5000 plus words but I decided to split it into two, so you'll be receiving two chapters at once. So far, these two chapters are my absolute favorites and a lot is about to happen between these two nerds. TIME FOR THE MUTUAL PINING!!! Like always I'll put the music links in the story and I hope you read along with the tracks, because it really is a whole other experience with the music. I probably won't put any notes in the end of this chapter. ENJOY LOVES <3

“Try it again, and this time keep your posture firm.”

Lance groaned as he repeated the same form he had been trying to learn for at least thirty minutes now.

“Your arms are too loose and too far away from your body. They’re not angled correctly either.”

“How many times do I have to do this same exact form before I can move on?!”

“Until you get it right, You’re not listening!”

“Spirits do all firebenders have a sticks up their asses? So what if my form is loose, why does it have to be perfectly rigid?” Lance threw his hands up in frustration.

His instructor was beside him watching with a scolding yet concerned look on his face. Probably thinking to himself, how the avatar couldn’t even get the first primary firebending move correctly. Lance began to doubt his abilities. It seemed no matter how he adjusted his body to what the prince instructed of him, it somehow always ended up wrong. Maybe he wasn’t cut out for firebending. Was a nonfirebending avatar ever even heard of? He might as well be the first the way the training was going.

Keith stood by and in worry as he watched Lance’s face drop into doubt. He couldn’t help but feel as though he had failed as an instructor. He put a palm to his forehead trying desperately think of anything to lighten the avatar’s mood. The fact that nothing came to mind as he saw Lance’s somber expression, it stung. The fire nation prince tried to remember what it felt like when he was first learning firebending. He remembered how stubborn and impatient he had been, Lance probably felt the same.

Suddenly he found the answer.

Keith’s expression tired soft and hopeful as he called out to his student. “Hey, Lance.”

The young avatar pulled his hand away from his face as he lifted his chin up to see his instructor. “What is it?”

“I think you’re too tense so why don’t we take a break.”

“…Yeah.”

* * *

 

“KEITH. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT??”

“Calm down! You’ll scare her.”

“Me?! Scare her?!”

The large, red, and scaly creature in front of him flinched as she tried to make out Lance’s scent. She began to growl when she noticed he smelled unfamiliar. Keith quickly put his right hand out in front of her nose and made contact with the rough leathery snout. The dragon closed her eyes and purred as a sign of recognition.

“Scarlet, you don’t have to be afraid. Lance is a friend.

The avatar watched the scene wide-eyed from behind Keith’s right shoulder. His shoulders lowered, and his terrified expression faded as he noticed the gentleness in which the giant lizard was responding to the prince. Keith was scratching behind the dragon’s ear and had a soft smile on his face. Lance couldn’t help but also curve his lips upwards, the scene was so… tender.

He was pulled out of his trance when Keith turned his head and locked his violet eyes with Lance’s blue ones. “You’re standing so far? Come closer, Lance.”

The avatar was hesitant. I mean, it’s not like they had any dragons at the poles, so he had never encountered one before. The beast tilted her head while opening her yellow eyes to stare at the young water tribe prince. Keith spoke again.

“I promise she won’t bite. I actually think she’s curious about you.”

Lance furrowed a brow, still apprehensive, but inched closer anyways with a hand out in front of him, hoping the dragon wouldn’t see him as a threat. When he got close enough to feel her warm breath on his skin, he smiled and kept his hand held out. He tilted his head to his right in the direction of the ground and closed his eyes. It took a few seconds, but in moments notice he felt a leathery surface grace the palm of his hand. He slowly brought his head back up to see the creature lean into the support of his arm and saw her eyes closed. Through his left ear, he could hear the sound of a laugh and turned his head to the direction of the sound.

“See, she likes you.”

The fire nation prince was standing right beside him smiling at the dragon. His face was only a mere few inches away which made the avatar visibly see every detail. The angled, soft jawline and the charcoal brown locks smooth, pale, flawless skin. The length of his lashes and the iris color of his eyes. Lance felt a warmth in his cheeks as Keith turned to face him with a small grin. Awkwardly standing there with his mouth half open, Lance shook his head a bit and chuckled a bit as he turned to look at Scarlet again.

“Yeah, I guess she does.”

Keith began walking to the right side of the dragon and brought a hand up, then brought it back down as a signal for her to lower her back to the ground. Lance didn’t notice at first, but he caught a glimpse of a saddle. Lance pieced two and two together as he realized what Keith’s idea of a “break” was. ‘Oh no.'

“Keith, if you’re doing what I think you’re doing-“

The firebender laughed as he got on the dragon’s back and turned to face the horrified waterbender once again. “What’s the matter, you scared?”

Lance turned red from embarrassment as he began flailing his arms. “No! I mean- of course not! Why would I be scared?! You’re- the one who’s- you’re scared!!”

[Keith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SePx4QzzmY) just rolled his eyes. “Uhuh, because the one on the large dragon is the scared one, that makes a lot of sense.”

“What- what’s the big deal anyways!? It’s just a giant lizard!” Lance walked to the side of the beast who was growling at him. The avatar flinched and let out a scream.

“I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me!”

At this point, his instructor was lying down on his back trying to hold in his laughter. “Lance, she’s not going to hurt you.” He rose back upright and extended an arm to his side to Lance. “C’mon Lance, I’ll tell her to go easy.”The avatar walked closer to the prince and decided to trust his words. He reached out and grabbed Keith’s right arm with his own as the fire nation prince pulled the waterbender up behind him on the saddle. “Alright girl, Let’s go.”

**(authors note: you should be 0:33 seconds into the song here)**

As soon as the dragon expanded her wings and lowered her head, Lance widened his eyes in fear. That fear only worsened as the beast ascended into the air at the speed of lightning.  The avatar felt his entire body jerk back. He swore the only thing still keeping him on the dragon were his feet that were latched around the fire nation prince’s own. He couldn’t exactly see his instructor’s face from behind, but Keith had a smug grin plastered on his face to match his determined expression.

The waterbender yelled out. “I thought you’d tell her to go EASY!?”

“Aw cmon almighty avatar, this is absolutely nothing!”

“OUR DEFINITIONS OF EASY DO NOT MATCH!”

“Hmm… alright, Scarlet, slow down.”

The dragon began to slow her glide, and soon they were just breezing through the clouds. Lance brought his chest forward as he put both his hands on Keith’s shoulders. “Thank you, Keith.”

The calm didn’t last very long.

Keith kept a smug smile on his face as he leaned lower and whispered in Scarlet’s ear. “What do you say we mess with him a bit.”

The dragon blinked as a sign of agreement.

“Alrighty then... SPIN!”

The dragon pulled herself up with one flap of her wings and stayed in the air for a second before dropping her nose into a downward spiral. Lance yelped as he took a peek at the ground below and pulled his arms around Keith’s waist while burying his head in the prince’s back. Keith’s eyes widened as he felt the sensation of flexible arms gripped tight around his abdomen. A faint blush came to his cheeks as he looked back at the curled back waterbender. He couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling.

The dragon came out of the spin and began flying back in a rapid, zig-zag motion through the white puffy clouds. Keith felt Lance still tensed behind him, and as much as he enjoyed the close contact. He didn’t want Lance’s first dragon ride to be traumatizing, but he also didn’t want it to be too boring. Maybe he could find a compromise. “Scarlet let’s try flying near the water.”

The dragon glided downwards towards the island’s end and came closer to sea level. Keith turned his head back to speak to the avatar. “Lance, look up for a second.”

The eighteen-year-old was still hiding his face. “Please no..”

Keith still kept his eyes on the avatar, his eyes showing concern. He told Scarlet to slow down a bit more and shifted his weight to slowly interlock the fingers of his fingers with Lance’s own. They were close enough to the ocean to be able to extend their arms and grace the surface. He brought Lance’s arm closer to the water and let his fingers feel the transparent surface of his element and pulled his own arm back again. Lance brought his left arm down from his eyes and began to notice the ocean around him. It relieved him to be around his core element again. Keith watched through the corner of his eye for the waterbenders reaction. Lance’s expression was blank, but he reached out his arm closer to the surface and watched as his hand glided along with the waves. The waterbender began to smile as the wind blew his hair back. Lance’s toothy smile only widened when he noticed the dolphins jumping up at a close distance from here he was. The water tribe prince brought his body back up and continued to gaze at the scene in awe. So much crystal blue surrounding him. He felt…he almost felt at home again.

Lance had subconsciously put his arms back on Keith’s shoulders without noticing. But the firebender definitely did. He tilted his head and saw the tan hand pressed to his skin. Smiling to himself, he thought about the warm and comforting feeling he got when it was pressed against his own pale ones. However, the more important thing was that Lance was actually enjoying riding on the back of a dragon. Keith decided to go a bit higher so that Lance got a better view of the vast ocean around them. As the dragon smoothly inclined, Lance put one arm around Keith’s waist again, while the other pointed downwards at the giant figure in the water.

“Keith! Look it’s a Whale Shark!”

Keith had never seen the waterbender so excited before… or this close. Lance’s chest was brushing his back lightly, and his profile was close enough for his dark hair to brush up on Lance’s smooth, tan skin. He never noticed before, but the waterbender had dimples, as well as a few slight freckles on his sharp pointed, nose. His eyebrows were thin, while also curved upwards, and his brunet hair looked like it could rival the softness of silk. Then there were his eyes. Keith was surrounded by different shades of the color. He saw the slightly violet tinted blue of the sky above him, as well as the deep and light blues of the ocean, it’s color always changing, but he had never seen a blue as beautiful as the ones in Lance’s irises. All this blue to admire, yet his lavender irises were only glued to the mix of cerulean and baby blue held behind the waterbenders dilated pupils. It seemed Keith’s own appeared to follow suit as his mouth opened in a small smile and his cheeks turned pink while his eyes half hooded continued gazing at who he believed was the prettiest boy he’d seen in his entire life.

Keith was pulled out of his thoughts as Lance raised his voice again. “Did you see it!?” Lance turned to lock his eyes with the firebenders, Keith could’ve sworn this boy’s radiant smiles could end wars. “It was so amazing!”

 

The firebender could barely breathe but managed to croak out a response. “Yeah… it was.”

Scarlet smugly smiled and squinted her eyes as she tilted her head back to look at her now embarrassed and flustered owner and an oblivious waterbender. Keith pointed at her as he spoke.

“Y- You watch where you’re going!”

Lance extended his arms out to touch the clouds, and as he lowered them again, a thought hit him as well. “Now that you mention it, Keith, where are we going?”

Well, he was screwed. The firebender had been so consumed with the water tribe prince behind him that he completely lost his sense of direction. Somehow, he felt even more embarrassed than before.

“Um, I honestly don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!?”

“I mean, I must’ve- I probably forgot the way back, It has been over a few months since I’ve flown.”

Lance groaned. “Well, this is just fantastic.” The water tribe prince began to look around for any sign of land. Thankfully, he spotted a body of land not too far away. “Look, ahead! There’s a place we can land!”

Keith noticed the rocky shore. There were many steep mountains and cliffs around this area. He questioned the waterbender. “Are you sure this is the best place?”

“You got a better idea?”

“Fair point.”

As soon as Keith spotted a flat place to land, he lowered his body near Scarlet’s eyes and led to the landing area. The dragon swiftly obeyed and gently put her claws on the gravel beneath. Keith got off first and extended a hand to help Lance down. When they hopped off the dragon’s back, they examined the area around them. They noticed mostly walls of rocks, a small body of water, and… a cave?

* * *

 

The song is Fearless by Thomas Bergerson


	6. And Share a Bond as Strong as Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where their relationship begins to shift. :3  
> Once again, I'll place the tracks in the fic so you know when to play them as you read along.

Both of the princes looked around hoping for any sign of someone from whom they could ask for directions. Unfortunately, no one was around… in plain sight anyway.

Keith turned to stare at the dark cave once more. He wondered if any people lived inside it, possibly using it as shelter. He lit a flame above his palm and turned to Lance and Scarlet. “Both of you stay here, I’m going to see if there are people in there.”

Lance stepped forward. “Keith no, you don’t know what’s inside that cave.”

The stubborn firebender just came up with a witty response. “I guess I’ll have to find out.” He tilted his head back to grin at the avatar. “Besides, whatever it is, I can handle it.”

Lance furrowed his brows and crossed his arms in worry as he watched the prince of the fire nation walk into a dark unknown cavern. He didn’t want either of them to go into the cave, but with Keith in there alone, he couldn’t exactly just stand out and wait either.

He faced Scarlet and pet her nose. “Stay put the girl, and try to get some rest, I’ll be right back.”

Scarlet nodded as she curled up into a ball and rested her head on the cement-like rock. Lance practically sprinted into the cave on after Keith. Hearing footsteps, the firebender stopped and looked behind his shoulder seeing a familiar head of brown. Keith sighed. “I told you to stay outside.”

“And I told you not to go in, a scary dark cave, but I guess we’re doing the opposite of what we were told today.”

Keith chuckled at that. “I suppose so.”

The two continued walking in the vertical passageway until they hit a crossroad. With only Keith’s flame to light the way, the two decided to stay together and took the path more to the right since it looked wider. They kept continuing on the trail until it seemed like they hit a dead end. The cave itself was fully enclosed with no light to seep through it. It was beginning to look more and more likely that no human souls were lurking inside this cave. Both of them came to a halt as they stared at the rock wall in front of them.

Lance sighed before commenting. “Well, this is just fantastic.”

Keith just rolled his eyes at the avatar and walked closer to the wall in front of them, with his flame still burning bright, he was able to make out characters inscribed on the wall. He gestured with his hand for the waterbender to follow. “Lance, come look at this.”

“No way! For all we know, this could be a booby trap. I say we just head back the way we came.”

The fire nation prince kept his eyes on the inscriptions, and skimmed through the first few words.“No, this isn’t a booby trap. I think- I think this wall is telling a story.”

The Water Tribe prince apprehensively moved to his instructor’s side as he looked up at the wall in curiosity. “What kind of story?”

[ _The Tale of Two Lovers._ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-1FwUWY4Fs&t=3s&list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_&index=6)

Lance stared at the carvings of a mountain, to the side of the inscriptions, the rest of them were too dark to see since Keith still kept his flame on the first sentence and began to read aloud.

_A long time ago, when the world was still young,  
there was a mountain that divided two villages._

Keith’s eyes also moved to see the mountain on the right. He moved on to the next few lines.

_One day, a man from the Eastern village climbed the mountain,  
And when he reached the top, he met a woman from the Western village_

Both Lance and Keith then noticed the drawing of a woman standing on the left and a man on the right of the mountain. The waterbender squinted his eyes and groaned. “Ugh, predictable. And then they lived happily ever after right.” Keith had a slightly annoyed expression on his face as he continued reading the inscriptions.

_The villages were enemies  
so they could not be together._

The avatar’s features then faded from irritated to a look of pity. He began to relate it to his own situation. Even if he were to find someone he loved, he still couldn’t be with them due to his own obligations. While Keith began thinking about the skewed history of the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes. They weren’t enemies per-say, but romantic relationships between civilians of the two nations were almost unheard of. It seemed people tried to avoid them if possible. Much less... a relationship between two princes. Keith sighed as he looked up to read the next few lines.

_But their love was strong  
And they found a way._

As the Fire Nation prince read those two lines, he felt a pang of hopefulness, little did he realize the waterbender beside him did as well. Maybe… it could work.

 _The two lovers learned earthbending from the badger moles._  
They built elaborate tunnels so they could meet secretly.  
Anyone who tried to follow them would be lost in the labyrinth.

Both began to smile at the thought, the whole world must’ve been against the two lovers being together, but they somehow made it work.

_Then one day the man didn’t come._

At least for a short while. The face’s of the two princes fell before Keith quietly read the next line.

_He had died in the war between the two villages._

_Keith slowly turned his head to see the avatars reaction. His expression looked almost.. pained. His brows were furrowed in anger._ “They couldn’t have just let the two be could they.”

_Devastated, the woman unleashed a terrible display of her earthbending power.  
She could have destroyed them all…_

Lance thought to himself that the woman definitely had a right to. The avatar always thought of war as pointless manslaughter. It unnecessarily took away people from the loved ones permanently. It caused unneeded suffering.  
__  
But instead, she declared the war over.  
Both villages helped her build a new city where they would live together in peace.

Lance looked at the drawing on the side and wondered why the city looked familiar to him.

_The woman’s name was Oma._

“Wait.. Oma.. as in-“

_And the man’s name was Shu._

“Omashu?”

_The great city was named Omashu as a monument to their love._

_“_ Keith, I’ve been here before!” The waterbender turned to see the firebender still consumed in reading the story. He let the fire nation prince continue.

_In the cave, there is a shrine, where the couple now lies beside one another.  
And carved into the stone are these words:_

_Love burns brightest in the dark._

Suddenly both princes heard a rumbling noise behind them and abruptly turned to look for the source. A Large boulder moved in front of their only exit, blocking their way out. Keith’s flame went out as both of them ran towards it to stop the stone. Lance even tried to earthbend it away from the opening, but no matter what he did, it wouldn’t budge. Keith kept pounding his fist on the rock.

Lance stood behind him with his voice low. “It’s no use. We’re stuck here now.”

“There has to be a way out.”

“That opening was our only option. We’re completely surrounded by darkness.”

Keith took a breath and tried to keep himself calm while the avatar kept his brows furrowed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I told you not to come in here!”

Keith couldn’t contain his anger anymore. “And I told you not to follow me!”

“Then you would’ve just been stuck in this cave alone genius!”

“I was trying to find someone who could help us figure out where we were.”

“Well, thanks to that lovely story, we know we’re somewhere near the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. But now we’re also stuck in a dark cavern with absolutely no way out.”

Keith guiltily looked down. “and your earthbending didn’t work either…”

Lance looked around and thought, if he couldn’t bend the boulder away from the opening, maybe he could just bend the earth around them and create a new one. He got into a basic earthbending form and brought his arm up in an effort to break the wall of rock in front of him. Much to his disappointment,, the boulder was still unmoving. Lance threw his hands up in frustration and groaned. “Why isn’t my bending working!?”

The fire nation on prince watched the avatar and turned to the walls as he came to his own possibility. “Lance, I don’t think it’s you. There must’ve been a spell put on this area of the cave.” Keith tried to firebend himself but oddly, was not even able to create a single spark. “Yep… definitely not just you.”

“So what the hell are we supposed to do now?! I don’t want to be stuck in this stupid cave for the rest of my life!” The water tribe prince put both his hands on his face. “Spirits, I just…” He lowered his hands and took a seat on the cold hard floor surface and leaned on the rock wall while bringing his knees to his chest. “I didn’t want this… I didn’t want any of it.”

Keith stood beside him perplexed at Lance’s state of vulnerability. He watched the waterbender hide his face between his knees again before speaking. “I just want to go home, Keith. I just want to be back at the igloo, with my family.”

Keith walked closer to him. He hesitated before taking a seat beside the avatar. “I’m so sorry, Lance.

“I never asked for any of this responsibility. I never wanted to be the avatar, hell I’m not even a decent one. What have I done besides train, and fail? I can’t even firebend Keith.” He raised his head up a bit, and Keith’s eyes widened as he noticed tears rolling down Lance’s eyes. “What does the world even need me for. What use am I? What is the point of all this training… sending me away from my family for years? The only element that’s ever been easy for me to learn was water. The rest were all so difficult.”

“But you did learn them… I mean, you kept going even though it was difficult. You never gave up. It maybe have taken you a little while longer to learn than previous avatars, and hey, I’m sure you also learned faster than some other ones.”

Lance looked up at the firebender. “I guess…”

Keith sent the avatar a warm smile as he continued. “Yeah, I think you’re doing just fine as the avatar.”

“What about firebending? I’m not sure I’ll be able to learn it. It honestly feels like the element isn’t for me.”

Keith brought his own knees up and held them with this hands. He rested his chin on them as he spoke again. “Today was only your first lesson, and I’ll admit. I think I went about training you wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m starting to think, most of your bending ability comes from your emotions. It’s much less about the physical form but more about the element itself guiding the form.

Lance stared at the firebender in confusion. “So… what are you implying.”

Keith kept his smile on the avatar. “I want you to create a small flame.”

“Wait. What?!”

“You heard what I said. Try to focus on your emotions.”

“Don’t you think this is a little fast? I don’t know about this.”

[Keith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po0eCY84CcU&index=7&list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_) tried to calm Lance down and lightly grabbed his arms by the wrists. He slowly brought them in front of his chest, extended out halfway. “Please… just trust me on this.”

The Water Tribe prince’s nervous expression turned into a slightly more determined one as he took a deep breath and nodded at his instructor.

“Okay now, firebending can be rooted from many kinds of intense emotions. There’s anger, excitement, passion-“

The avatar giggled as a thought came to his head “Is yours usually anger?”

“What!? No!”

Lance chuckled. “I’m just teasing. Go on.”

Keith turned red in the cheeks as he continued. “Love is also another.”

“Love?”

“Yes, I want you to build up that emotion in whatever form you imagine it, It could be the love you feel for your tribe or family? Or really, whatever or whoever you feel most passionately about.”

Lance looked down at his palms “Oh okay, I think I got it, I’ll try it.”

Closing his eyes, the avatar thought first about his mother and her warm embrace, he also began to think about his father, smiling proudly at him when he learned to sail for the first time. More figures began to show up, he thought about his siblings, and aunties and uncles, grandparents, as well as the village. He thought about Blue, about Hunk. Also his other instructors, Pidge, Coran, and Allura, He thought about the kind general Takashi, who welcomed him warmly. The last person he thought about, was the man just inches in front of him. Lance didn’t understand why but the compassion he felt towards him seemed to differ from the rest. It was a much softer type of feeling, yet also more intense. There was something about Keith Kogane that felt familiar and welcoming. It was definitely a form of love, but… he couldn’t quite figure out why it felt so strange in comparison. Before he could go further into those thoughts, he heard the sound of crackling, and his face began to feel warmer than before.

Lance opened his eyes to see the same pale, dark-haired man in his thoughts earlier, giddily watching the flame in his hand. Lance looked down to see the bright yellow flame and stared in awe.

He couldn’t believe it.

This was a flame. His _own_ flame.

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened up in a toothy grin. Lance couldn’t hold in his excitement. “Keith! Oh, my spiritsI I did it!” The avatar practically screamed in joy. “I can’t believe I did this! Yes!”

Keith, on the other hand, was absolutely smitten. He tenderly watched the overjoyed avatar with a gentle smirk. “I knew you could do it.”

Lance looked up from the flame to lock his eyes with the prince’s. Staring at the way the fire’s light reflected on his instructor’s features, he noticed the specks of lavender, which now appeared red-ish due to the lighting. He paid attention to the dark strands of hair, which now shined an auburn color, stuck to his forehead and resting atop his round but sharp nose. He watched the slight crinkle in his eyes and moved downwards to see the way his lips were parted in a half smile. Lance’s own lips half opened as he began to wonder how soft the firebenders lips would feel pressed against his own. Suddenly in that moment, the flame in his hand faded and darkness surrounded both of them once again. Without thinking, Lance reached for Keith’s hand and brought his face closer. His eyelids fell to a close as the avatar’s lips made contact with the fire prince’s own.

Definitely softer than Lance had thought.

The kiss felt strangely surreal. It was as though thousands of slight electrical currents moved through their bodies at the contact. Like a magnetic field pulling both of their energies together to create an inseparable bond. One that felt… complete.

Lance felt it difficult to pull away, but thoughts about his Tribe seeped back into his head. He slowly moved his lips back and opened his eyes. Keith also lifted his eyelids halfway. The prince couldn’t tell if what just happened was a dream or reality. The kiss only slightly caught him by surprise but he found it easy to respond to it. He looked up to see the avatar’s face farther away from his own once more questioning himself, as well as looking for a reaction. Lance’s face seemed to have a bittersweet smile plastered on it as he looked to the ground. Did he regret the kiss?

Before he could continue his thoughts, Lance’s expression suddenly changed as he looked around the room.

It was lit up again.

Above them, there were turquoise crystals that brightened the cavern. The boulder had moved from its place and the exit was open once more. Lance stood up in shock as well as relief and grabbed Keith’s hand.

“We’re finally free!”

Keith took his hand and was abruptly pulled up as the avatar ran out of the cave. The fire prince followed on after but still couldn’t understand what this entire experience meant to the avatar. Did it mean to him as much as it did to Keith? Was it even real? Keith just put the thoughts aside for now not dwelling too much on his emotions. “Yeah… finally.”

* * *

 

 The songs in this chapter are "A Tale of Two Lovers" from Avatar the Last Airbender, and Rooftop Kiss, composed by James Horner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So those were chapters 5 and 6, Please let me know what you think, I hope you all enjoyed it!! Also thank you so much to everyone who commented and left kudos on this fic, or have personally messaged me and all your sweet compliments!! I appreciate every single one of them and they brighten my day <3 I also made a playlist for the fic in chronological order to the events that will occur.  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_
> 
> Here's the link to the playlist! I'll see you all next update!!


	7. But Just like Lightning...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK. This new chapter was originally going to mainly focus on the villains but I didn't want to give too much away... SO HERE'S MORE KLANCE, as well as a bit of what's going on with the villains. I'm wondering if you'll be able to guess where I'm going with it. Cause it'll be painful... Anyways as always, I'll post the song links in the chapter but I have a few notes. For the first song.. it's really long so you'll need to skip a bit of it. Listen to the first minute and then skip to the last minute of the song. (It's kind of repetitive so there's no need for you to listen to the entire song to get the feel, but it's too long to read along to.) The second one fits perfectly with the flow so no need to do anything with that one. ENJOY!!!

[The](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5cIfvmIgpI) avatar had been training under his new firebending instructor for more than two weeks now. Once he learned how to conjure the element itself, strangely enough, the rest of the steps became much simpler. He mastered twenty different techniques in the span of one week, and thirty in the next. The Fire Nation prince was no doubt impressed with his student. Lance had a tough work ethic, as well as the kind of will and determination Keith had only ever seen in his older brother. To say the least, it was endearing.

But Lance’s firebending wasn’t the only thing that improved. As the two spent more time together, from dawn to dusk training, their relationship also changed. Their constant bickering slowly became playful teasing. Keith’s stern corrections of Lance’s stances soon became gentle touches and soft-spoken adjustments. Lance’s snarky comments progressed into tender compliments.

Takashi was never too far, making sure to keep an eye on the two boys. He watched their relationship change and saw the difference in the way they smiled at one another. How the tone of their voices became softer when they were together. The held gazes and intimate contact, the way his brother couldn’t help but do anything to get closer to the avatar.

And it broke his heart.

Shiro was only recently told by the Fire Lord about the avatar’s arranged marriage to the princess of the Northern Water Tribe. The news was unexpected, and if he had known earlier, Shiro would’ve kept his place as the avatar’s instructor. But now… it’s too late. Now his brother has fallen so deep into the pit of love, with no one to pull him out. The general quickly turned his head in their direction as he heard a thud followed by… laughter?

“Ha ha! Now the hunter becomes the hunted!”

Shiro watched as Lance had tackled Keith to the ground and was hovering his weight above the Fire Nation prince. Keith could barely hold in his laughter, and he closed his eyes as tears came to them. Lance’s features softened at the sight of Keith giggling underneath him, and his eyes widened as a blush came over his cheeks. Keith’s breathing became more steady as he opened his eyes to look up at the Water Tribe prince.

“W-What?”

‘You’re so pretty…’ Was all the avatar could think as he kept his half hooded eyes on the boy in front of him. Little did he realize he actually said the words aloud.

“You.. think I’m pretty?”

Lance’s face turned redder than the entire nation while he shook his head. “I-no- I said are you ready! You know? For our next spar?”

Keith paused for a second before responding. “Uh.. yeah sure.”

The general watched as the Water Tribe prince lifted himself to stand up and extended an arm to help Keith rise to his feet. The minute their eyes interlocked, something in Lance’s features softened again, and Shiro realized…

Lance had also fallen in love with Keith.

“General Shirogane.”

Takashi was pulled out of his thoughts once again by a familiar thick voice.

“General Zarkon, what’s going on?”

“The Fire Lord has some interesting news he wants to share with you, for the time being, he has put me in charge of watching my nephew and his guest.”

Shiro raised his brow in suspicion. “What kind of news?”

Zarkon smirked. “His plans for retirement.”

* * *

 

 

“So… why is there an extra lesson today?”

Keith bit his lip in hesitation before he spoke.

 “I’m going to teach you how to bend lightning.”

* * *

 

 

“Father… what’s this I hear about your retirement.”

The Fire Lord lifted his head up from his paperwork to lift his gaze to his son in response. “So Zarkon, told you?”

Shiro dropped his hand from its resting position on the doorway and straightened his posture. “Yes, what’s going on.”

“Well…” Thace put his papers down and lifted himself off the chair to stand face to face with the general. “I’m getting older Shiro… Keith is now eighteen years old, I want him to start ruling the fire nation.”

Shiro smiled and crossed his arms. “I do think he needs to learn some discipline before anything, but I feel like he’d also learn better on the job than any prior training.”

“I’m holding the coronation after the meteor shower festival in a few days. By that time the avatar will also complete his training and be set to wed the princess of his sister tribe. I see that my son and the avatar’s new friendship is growing strong. Forming an alliance with both the Water Tribes could prove to be rewarding in trade keeping the peace between nations.”

Takashi, nervously bit his lip as he thought about their new ‘friendship.' “Uh.. about that Sir…”

Thace looked over his shoulder with a questioning stare. “What is it?”

The general was hesitant. Should he tell his father that their bond was definitely beginning to turn into something more complicated than just a friendship? He didn’t know what kind of response he would receive, and he didn’t want to break his younger brother’s heart either… maybe he shouldn’t. “Um- It was nothing sir, my apologies.”

Thace shrugged and pulled his chair back while returning to his seat. “Alright then, please let Keith know as soon as you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

 

 

[Lance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADfIlLfs5Bk) stood in place, shock overcoming his features, as well as another emotion… fear?

“…Keith, why?”

“Well, you being the avatar, you’ll probably be fine in defending yourself, but…” Keith stopped himself to compose his thoughts. “But, I guess I just thought since you’re already well on your way to mastering firebending… that you’d learn lightningbending as well. I also just… I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Lance noticed the quietness of his instructor’s voice. It was soft and held concern, which made something in Lance’s stomach drop. He was the avatar for spirit’s sake, he didn’t exactly need extra protection, it’s not like he couldn’t handle himself. So why did Keith care about his safety? Why did this seemingly perfect… smart… sweet… adorable boy in front of him care about him so much, what made Lance so special? _Why do you want to protect me, Keith…?_

Ever since the time in the cave, he couldn’t exactly get the prince of the Fire Nation out of his brain. Okay so maybe that was a lie, and it may have even been since before that. But the second their lips touched, those feelings never stopped. The kiss solidified everything Lance already tried so desperately not to feel and wasn’t ready to admit…

Feelings he still couldn’t admit…

“Lance, are you listening?”

The avatar lifted his head up as he heard an all too familiar voice.

“Um-yeah… lightningbending right?”

“Yes, now, lightningbending can seem terrifying at first, but I need you to promise me that you’ll use it when you need to.”

There was a halt in his breathing, but Lance put on a smile in response. “Yeah, of course.”

Keith returned the gesture, and just like that, the Water Tribe prince became lost in his thoughts once more. Was a simple curve of a lip, really only what it took to stop his heartbeat? It was almost unfair… just how much of an influence the firebender had on the avatar. The way Lance almost forgot to breath when he would listen to the melodic soundwaves of Keith’s laughter. The way he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the violet lavender starred galaxies inside his irises. Or the warm feeling in his stomach when Keith would call out his name with his smooth, yet raspy voice. He couldn’t help but feel like it was meant to be there. Yes… every moment of painful longing was completely and heartbreakingly unfair…

Because Keith wasn’t the one Lance was arranged to marry.

The even more depressing part of the whole situation was whether Keith even felt the same way. Lance averted his gaze from the floor upwards to the person who had tormented and plagued his thoughts with emotions he wished he couldn’t feel anymore. Keith was watching him curiously, and Lance realized he hadn’t been paying attention again.

He brought his attention back to his instructor, who cleared his throat and began explaining the unique type of energy required to conjure up the element of lightning.

“To be able to understand lightning… you have to find a spark within you.”

_You’re my spark…_

Keith began to create tiny sparks of electricity with his index and middle fingers. “You have to clear your head and put aside any inner turmoil and for this to work… your focus should be on one thing, and one thing only.”

_All I’ve been able to focus on for weeks has been you…_

The firebender slowly moved his arm back as crackles of lightning began to form around him. “Take that focus energy or emotion and…”

_I have to…_

The Fire Nation Prince looked for an object to strike, his eyes landed on the large tree not too far away. “Let it go.”

Lance watched as the lighting shot right through the air and collided with the branch of the tree… in seconds… it was in flames.

_…Let him go…_

* * *

 

 

General Zarkon stood beside a pillar watching the exchange between the two boys as he tried to determine what was going on in their relationship. It was painfully obvious that his nephew held affections for the avatar… but trying to find out if those feelings were returned, was the tricky part. The avatar was always careful around the older man, and in general, was not one to express his true emotions.

With the few weeks in which Zarkon had observed the Water Tribe prince’s behavior, he deducted that Lance knew exactly how to hide behind a smile. He portrays himself as being an open book when in reality, he only shows people the summary. There was much more to the avatar than he let on.

In that sense… I guess the two were similar.

But now, after watching the way Lance’s features softened and his body relaxed around his nephew, the general had confirmation, that the avatar also held affections for Keith.

As the training session came to a close and the two headed to their separate rooms, Zarkon headed to his own quarters and waited for just the right moment.

The sky began to darken, and the moon came into view, and most of the military had gone to their bunkers. He exited his quarters and headed to the East Tower.

Also known as the Prison of the Royal Palace.

There were two guards at the gate, but the general’s title and rank were far superior to a few soldiers. He was immediately granted access and walked up the flight of stairs to the highest floor of the tower. At the end of the hall in the prison’s only electricity barred cell, was a dark hooded figure.

“I see the cell is treating you well old hag.”

The figure lifted her head up to reveal the face of a wrinkly old woman, she had long straw like white hair and a sharp chin. Her irises were gold just like the general’s. “What do you want?”

“Hagar… I can get you out of here, but I’ll need your assistance.”

“Oh? To what do I owe such generosity.”

Zarkon lowered his voice to a whisper. “I understand that you’re a sorcerer.”

Hagaar raised a brow. “Go on?”

“Well… as you probably know, the avatar has been learning firebending under my nephew, so I was wondering…”

Hagaar’s eyes widened at the mention of the avatar. _So what I was feeling…_

“Are you able to manipulate spirits?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So everything is being set in motion with these characters. Keep an eye out for chapter 8 because it will be arriving sooner than you believe. (Tomorrow night). This fic is slowly coming to a close, Thirteen chapters are to be expected for sure AT LEAST. Thank you for following my story and I'll see you next update lovelies!! <3  
> The songs used were I Love You Forever - by Two Steps from Hell  
> and La Danse de la Lune - by Ivan Torrent


	8. We're Static

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be short but it's going to set up something big coming. The next chapters will not disappoint as we get closer to the climax. This chapter sets up a point in which Lance and Keith recognize their feelings... but don't know what choices to make. Their countries, or each other? I hope you enjoy this one. I'm trying to update as soon as I can but life gets in the way. So I apologize for how long they're taking.

“A coronation?”

Takashi smiled in response at his younger brother. “Yes, dad wants you to become the new Fire Lord.”

Keith shifted on the bed and crossed his legs. His dad wanted him to become the next Fire Lord? It just seemed too sudden, too soon. Several questions ran around in his head. Wasn’t he too young to take on a position that was this important? Ruling an entire nation, being responsible for countless citizen’s lives, and safety, it didn’t seem like something he was ready for.

While there were a significant number of reasons why Keith didn’t believe he was cut out for the role, it was also the matter of his lack of desire to take it on.

If the prince was completely honest with himself,

he really didn’t want this.

The eighteen-year-old hadn’t exactly been thinking about the possibility of being forced into the position so early. Keith’s attention had mostly been focused on…

other matters…

Other, ocean eyed, tan sunkissed skinned, radiant smiled, absolutely adorable in every possible way matters.

He knew exactly what he wanted.

He wanted his rough scarred warm hands intertwined with Lance’s cool, calloused, yet smooth ones. Keith wanted to feel the silkiness of the Water Tribe prince’s brunette locks in between his fingers. To be able to tell him about his day, to plant gentle kisses on his forehead. To rest his head on Lance’s shoulder after his tiring days of ruling the nation. He wanted to get Lance’s opinion on his policies or decisions.

Keith wanted Lance to stand beside him until he took his last breath.

Maybe… if Lance felt the same… They could rule both the Southern Water Tribe and Fire Nation together.

But if the avatar didn’t feel the same, the Fire Nation prince decided he would still do his best as a leader.

Shiro noticed his younger brother had been consumed in his own thoughts for a while, but he still needed a response on whether he would accept his new role. “Keith… I know you need time to take this in but-“

“I accept.”

Takashi blinked admittedly surprised at his brother’s compliance. “Huh, not the answer I was expecting… at least not right away.” As he watched Keith’s features become fierce with determination, he smiled proudly as he walked closer to the door. “Well, I admire the resolve.”

Shiro turned his head to see Keith smile back at him.

_You’ve already grown so much…_

“You’re going to make a great leader, Keith.”

The younger boy’s eyes had widened before a blush came to his cheeks. “Thank you, Shiro.”

“Of course little bro.”

As Shiro closed the bedroom door leaving the prince on his own, He began to think about whether the avatar felt the same way he did.

Keith decided he wasn’t going to wait any longer to find out.

 

* * *

 

When leaving the prince’s quarters, General Takashi decided to make the most of his morning and do a perimeter check around the palace. He didn’t get too far when he noticed a familiar, lean silhouette crouched down in the royal garden near the pond. The sound of the rippling water and arm movements gave the person’s identity away.

“Lance, why are you up so early?”

The general’s piercing and commanding voice startled the Water Tribe prince, and he dropped the orb of water formerly floating near his palm. He turned his head back to notice the Shiro watching him amused. “Why is your voice so sharp?!”

The general smiled as he walked towards where Lance was sitting. “Well if it weren't, I wouldn’t be a top ranking General would I?”

“Fair point.”

Lance averted his gaze back to the pond. As he took in the full body of water in front of him, his eyes also landed on the red and orange flowers on the other side. There were many other different kinds of flowers of all colors and shapes present as well, but this particular one seemed to cover most of the grass. He noticed the way the petals were spread out and the unique blends of color. The bright yellow root of the petal moved gradually upwards into a sunset orange and finally reached a deep shade of scarlet at the tips.

The flower uncannily resembled the nation’s element.

The general stood above the avatar following the direction of his gaze. His eyes caught sight of the flowers.   
“Those are Fire Lilies, they’re the Nation’s signature flower.”

Lance brought his knees up to his chest crossing his arms atop them. “Well, the name fits.”

“They were the Fire Lady’s favorite.”

Lance looked up to see Shiro’s smile fade. When he first met, the Fire Lord sitting alone in his throne room, he was too excited about firebending and too annoyed at a certain prince to give it much thought. But now the sad realization hit him. Something had happened to her, and his heart ached because he now knew that Keith had to grow up without a mother.

Seeing the way Shiro’s features also shifted, it became apparent she was important to him as well. He felt a weight come over his chest. Just the thought of losing his own mother would absolutely devastate him. He didn’t even want to imagine how difficult it was for them. “I’m so sorry.”

Shiro took a deep breath and crouched down to sit beside Lance. ‘It’s nothing you need to worry about.” He put on a grin and faced the avatar. “So, you never answered my question as to why you were out here? You leave tomorrow after the festival so I thought you’d want to start packing.”

“I’ve just… been thinking too much. I needed to clear my head.”

“I guess I can understand that, especially since you’re getting married soon.”

Lance place his right hand on the grass under him and lightly felt the tips of the blades. “That’s sort of the problem. I know I’m supposed to uphold my duties and obligations as the Chief’s son, but recently it feels like my heart’s been at war with itself. “

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I care about my Tribe and all the people in it, I also care about my family and want to make them happy. I want them to be proud of me,  and as much as my head is telling me, that marrying the Northern Water Tribe princess should be easy, it doesn’t exactly feel that way.” He plucked the blade from the soil and continued. “I love my family, but being here… I found someone-thing, I also think… I’ve come to love.”

Shiro’s eyes slightly widened. If he needed any confirmation that Lance really did feel the same way about Keith, he definitely received it.

“What do you think I should do?”

The general looked back at the avatar, seeing the desperation in his eyes.

He realized then just how much the situation was worrying the prince. Shiro wished more than anything that he could alter it. That he could find a way to ease the both of them. He wished the circumstances were different for the two of them, but the truth was, they were princes, who were soon to be leaders. They didn’t have the luxury of choosing their roles or who they were meant to marry. Their decisions could mean lasting peace or the beginning of an all-out war. So, for now, all he could do was try his best to guide them, he wanted to let them decide their own path, even if that path had dire consequences. “I think you should do what you feel is right.”

The Water Tribe prince kept his eyes glued to the grass underneath him. There was no response.

“I’ll let you think about that for a while.” Shiro stood up and patted Lance on the shoulder. “Take it easy today, and enjoy yourself at the festival. Whatever you decide will have consequences on either yourself or others around you. So I say… think about this on a larger scale, and determine how small or big those consequences will be. You’re the avatar, whatever you have to face, I hope you’re ready for it.”

Lance looked up at the general, his eyelids still half-lid and brows pulled downwards. “I know…”

“I wish I could do more for you, Lance… but I’m just one person.”

The eighteen-year-old gripped the blades of the grass beside him and turned his head as he gave a small smile to the general. “I know Shiro. Thank you for the advice anyways.”

Takashi smiled in return and was about to leave when Lance’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“But Shiro…”

“Yes, Lance?”

“Just… out of curiosity…” the waterbender’s tilted his head down as a pink tint ran across his cheeks. His breath hitched, and he was seemingly hesitant to continue.

But he did anyways.

“What might a Fire Nation proposal be like?”

 

* * *

 

After a long day of flying, searching, and blacksmithing, Keith finally made the finishing touches to the circular mold and finished the carvings in the stone. He poked a hole in the top and placed a steel chain in between to hold the deep purple ribbon threaded through.

He held up the necklace out in front of him and scanned it for any last minute adjustments. The only thing he could think was.

_It was perfect._

He gently smiled as he fondly looked at the sapphire and ruby mixed round stone. A flame and wave were carved in the form of the yin and yang symbol.

“Tonight…”

 

* * *

 

Rolo had closed up his tea shop many hours ago. Sailing in the seemingly endless ocean in front of him, he had set a course for the Northern Water Tribe. Hoping to negotiate in trading relations with the royal family.

“Do we have a deal?”

The princess smirked at her father as he accepted the bargain.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's chapter 8!! The next chapters will be much longer as you'll get to see what a fire nation shooting star festival is like!! I'll see you next update. :)


	9. We Hold On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it's been a while since the last update but I've been stuck in the worst writer's rut and am still managing to slowly pull myself out. There's also the story of my mental health which got so bad I had to pull myself out of college this semester. This summer is my time to recover so while I'll be updating more regularly, mental health comes first. I'm also working on my portfolio to hopefully start looking for studio internships and working on my own original side projects as well as these fics and so many other projects... I'm realizing I have to create a schedule since that's the only way I'll be able to manage my time correctly. So yeah that's been my life atm. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it was difficult for me to write. I'm working on the next chapter as I post this and I'm glad to be getting out of my rut to tell this story again. As always the music links will be put in the chapter! <3

[Keith ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG9Pb4a_xuM&index=9&list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_)and Shiro stood beside a pillar watching the guests enter through the palace gates and assemble in the main courtyard . The Fire Lord was at his pedestal readying his speech to begin the Festival of Falling Stars. The two of them  were standing near the pillar to the right of their father and General Zarkon was standing near the pillar to the left , both further back from where Thace stood.  Keith grew impatient when he noticed that fifteen minutes had passed and the avatar still hadn’t finished changing .  Shiro must’ve noticed the prince's paranoia because he began to laugh at the frustrated scowl that always seemed to be permanently etched onto Keith's face .  He explained that the avatar was most likely trying to adapt to Fire Nation clothing when he had been too accustomed to Water Tribe wear . Still, the ceremony was almost about to commence and the master of all elements was nowhere to be found. The royal family wanted to introduce him as the special guest of the evening but that would prove difficult when the most important person in the room was running late.  When the last of the guests had arrived, The Fire Lord stepped closer to the edge of the tiled foundation to address his subjects . The once noisy crowded courtyard quieted down at the sight of the nation’s ruler. Keith and Shiro moved their eyes to glance at the door in hopes Lance would walk through it. Meanwhile, Thace rose up to deliver a welcoming greeting.   


“Welcome everyone, to the Royal Palace! We are gathered to celebrate the Festival of Falling Stars. A phenomenon that only happens every few years. Please feel free to roam freely on the Palace grounds and enjoy the evening’s festivities..”

As the Fire Lord continued his speech, there was a click of a door opening. It was quiet enough not to disrupt the ceremony but just loud enough for the Fire Nation prince to glance once again in its direction. The sight that awaited him left Keith in a spellbinding trance. 

The avatar stepped out of the dark doorway into scarlet hue of the reflecting sunset. The bright lighting illuminated his warm, brown skin as specks of gold danced around in his brunette locks. His hair was parted and pushed back to the left while joined strands of hair fell to grace his forehead. His sky blue sleeveless top was replaced by a similar maroon colored one, that was lined with a thick golden necklace above the collarbone. Gems of ruby and sapphire were studded in the design which brought out the cerulean blue of Lance’s irises. Gold cuffs were wrapped around his biceps keeping the simplistic and dark wave tattoos on his right shoulder visible. Another golden belt was wrapped around his waist as the red colored fabric flowed to his sides over simple dark brown pants. He had accessorized the outfit with scarlet and gold armored gloves.

[ ](http://s1266.photobucket.com/user/thegirlinthefandom/media/Lance%20in%20Fire%20Nation%20Attire_zpsakczxznj.jpg.html)

Keith could’ve sworn that in that moment, every last oxygen molecule had been stripped from the air around him as he felt himself unable to breathe, let alone speak. Lance was attractive, that much had been obvious since the first day they met, but seeing the way the signature scarlet red of the Fire Nation clung so beautifully to the Water Tribe prince’s smooth tan skin was a different feeling entirely. It felt surreal to see those colors, the Fire Nation’s colors,  _ Keith’s colors,  _ compliment Lance as if the hues were alive themselves, dancing atop his skin so vibrantly almost like they were specifically tailored to him. 

As though Lance was meant to wear them. 

The thought brought a soft smile to the Fire prince’s lips and he was now wholeheartedly confident in his decision to follow through with his plans for the night.

Lance noticed Keith’s eyes on him and witnessed his mouth once half open, transition into a small smile. The avatar himself had to take a moment to process the Fire prince’s expression. While there was a familiarity to it, Keith had never looked at him with so much…

Fondness…

Realizing he was already late, he shook the thoughts out of his head and pulled himself together as he walked over to stand beside Keith. As much as Lance was a people person, he couldn’t help but feel nervous as he looked at the size of the crowd in attendance. The Fire Lord noticed out of the corner of his eye that the avatar had finally arrived. 

As Thace began the introduction, Keith loosely nudged Lance on the shoulder. Most likely due to noticing Lance’s nervousness thanks to his slight fidgeting. Once violet eyes met with cerulean ones. It was as though the high tides of Lance’s anxiety calmed into stillness just through Keith’s small gesture of reassurance. Which brought a whole new wave of emotions into play. However, Lance was supposed to be waving at the crowd right now. He’d let those feelings consume him another time. 

With his signature toothy grin, he brought up his arm and with the crowds final roars of appraise, the festival officially began.

* * *

**(skip to 0:10)**  [Lance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJTQzhqidk) had never seen so many shades of red and yellow before. The lights of the festival were so bright, that if someone were to see it from the heavens of space, the town’s glow would still be visible. The music surrounding them brought the colors around to life, as upbeat, fast paced melodies and rhythmic sounds filled the atmosphere. With the Fire Nation prince, serving as his personal escort through the town, Lance made it a point to go to try every food stand he came across. The air around him was filled with scents of spices and herbs from every end of the world. Food had been imported from the Water Tribe as well and when the avatar caught a glimpse of fresh cooked seal jerky, he couldn’t resist. Lance got two pieces and let Keith try some. To his surprise, the firebender didn’t completely hate it, but did visibly cringe as it settled in his mouth, before the grumpy prince began complaining about the salty sea water after taste. The Water Tribe prince couldn’t help but laugh at him. 

Walking towards the middle of the town plaza, Lance let his mind drift as he thought about the boy next to him. The eighteen-year old prince who seemed far too quiet and reserved in comparison to the rest of his people. The citizens of the Fire Nation were overly friendly and welcoming, in a somewhat obnoxious and outspoken way. Watching the street performers and fire dancers, and seeing so much happen around him, made him realize just how much Keith himself stood out. 

It wasn’t that Keith wasn’t friendly, or welcoming, it was more so that, he didn’t need feel the need to be boisterous to make his presence known. While the rest of the town was burning bright and letting the wind fan their flames, Keith kept his own fire controlled, but it never made his flame any less powerful or bright. He had a much softer kind of glow. 

Keith noticed Lance staring at him and looked up in question. Lance quickly broke eye contact and turned a shade of red that could rival his top. Wondering what could’ve left the eighteen year old so flustered, Keith turned back to the dancers. He had been entertained by them while Lance had been enamored by him. Soon his own face turned red.

The sun had finally set, and the moon had appeared. Nightfall struck as the bright red and orange sunset moved into a cool deep blue sky. The two princes watched the change in each others company. No words were needed, just a simple intertwining of their fingers, to make clear the strength of the bond shared. For once their hands touched, the world around them went silent. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs are The Kiss by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman. and Science by Two Steps from Hell


	10. And Unstable like Electricity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> W o w, Hi guys! Sorry things took so long, I really don't have much of an explanation other than life is hectic and unpredictable. But we do the best we can and that's whats important. I'm really glad to be back to share this with you guys. Recently this story has become a lot more important to me than it was before, because I now know what this kind of love in similar circumstances feels like. Which makes me regret putting these kids through the pain but hey, someones gotta do it. (once again, the song links will be in the fic at the points you should begin playing them!) :3
> 
> This chapter is actually for someone I met, who overtime became my best friend, then she became someone I fell for. Badly. I always thought I related more to Lance in this story but wow I am definitely more like Keith. Anyways, yeah this chapter conveys pretty well how I've come to feel about her and the unfortunate circumstances of life. Regardless I'll always be there for you, and, you know who you are love. Hope you enjoy it. <3

Keith pulled Lance back to the palace once the Water tribe prince was done seeing the town. They walked hand in hand and remained close to each other throughout the walk back. As they approached the palace gates, they heard a soothing melody through the walls. Walking up the steps to the main hall, The two princes saw many noblemen and Fire Nation elites gathered inside.

The royal ball had begun.

* * *

 

[The](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCVL3WTKagE&list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_&index=10) Fire Lord had decided to organize a ball specifically for members of the highest ranking status and at least a hundred more ordinary civilians who had been privileged enough to be invited. It was truly a sight to behold. The main hall was three times the size of the throne room. It had been decorated with wine red curtains and golden fire emblems. It was dimly lit with candles and lamps in each corner. The middle of the room was tiled with pristine white marble, and the sides were thinly carpeted in velvety red, holding up rounded tables with fire lilies as centerpieces. The Fire Lord must’ve noticed their arrival because he smiled and walked over to the two princes. “Nice of you both to finally join us, I assume you enjoyed seeing the town, young avatar. I hope my son didn’t give you much trouble.”

  
“Dad!”

Lance sent an amused smirk to the boy next to him who had become a bright shade of red, his skin almost matched the color of his robe. The avatar then turned back to the Fire Lord and returned the smile. “Don’t worry sir, he was good company and seeing village was stunning. I enjoyed it very much.”

The Fire Lord seemed pleased at the response as his lips tilted at the two of them. He then said his goodbyes as he returned to speak to the nobleman he’d been conversing with earlier. Glancing around the room, Lance began to notice the once empty dance-floor had been filled with several couples dancing to the mesmerizing tune of the melody. The lights had been dimmed even more, and the talking had quieted down. Everything about it was spellbinding.  
  
The avatar didn’t know what made him slightly tighten his grip on the fire prince's hand and stand close to him. Keith became stiff as he looked up at Lance.

“What are you doing?”

“I was wondering…”

Keith angled his body towards the water tribe prince, waiting for him to continue. Lance cleared his throat and turned his head to look at the dance floor instead of at Keith’s violet eyes that were fixed on him and frankly taking his breath away. “I was wondering if you wanted to dance.”

Before Lance could even turn around, he felt a tug on his arm. Keith had slowly pulled them both to the tiled dance floor and put his arms around the avatar’s neck. “I was beginning to think you’d never ask.”

Wide eyed, Lance looked down at the man in front of him and brought his arms around the firebender’s waist. “I didn’t know you were a dancer.”

Keith let out a chuckle and looked down at his feet. “Well, you’re not wrong, in a way. I never did enjoy it but being a prince and everything, you sort of have no choice but to learn.” He lifted his chin up to see Lance's eyes glued to him and now there was a smile upon his lips.

The two gently swayed to the music, and there was a comforting kind of silence roping the two closer together. Keith could feel the warmth of Lance's breath against his cheek, and it left a tangled knot forming in his stomach. His eyes moved from the sea blue of Lance’s iris’ down to the softness of his parted lips. Keith knew what tasting those lips felt like, he remembered their first kiss in the cave. Lance had been the one to initiate it, but it wasn’t as if Keith didn’t fully give into the tender touch after his initial surprise. What he’d give to join their lips together once more, to experience that same wholeness that made him feel so incomplete now. He wanted to feel complete again. The cave was also the first time and place in which Lance was able to firebend. He recalled telling Lance to create the flame through passion, and love. Now, as he brought his gaze back up to Lance’s eyes, those beautiful, cerulean orbs staring at him with such fondness and warmth, with the occasional glance downwards to where Keith’s lips were, he wondered if just maybe… The avatar felt the same.

However, Keith still knew what he’d be risking. The feeling of rejection, the tears that came after, the possible end of their friendship. All of that and more if Lance didn’t feel the same. He’d mentally prepared himself beforehand for whatever answer he’d receive, but Keith knew that if he didn’t act soon, the fire prince would never forgive himself if he never let Lance know the extent of his feelings.

Meanwhile, the man in question was running around in his head wondering what all of this meant. Lance wasn’t sure if it was his own insecurities or hesitance, but he found it hard to read the firebender. A war was still raging in his mind on whether it was worth it to defy his Tribe’s customs, his family’s desires, to reject the beautiful Northern princess without even giving her a chance. To withhold that opportunity from her, and the peace of their Tribes, because of the clumsiness of his own heart. A child of water and ice, tripping and about to dive head first into the dangerous beauty of a volcano, a love that would cause hazardous destruction and a steamy demise.

Then he caught another glimpse of those galaxy filled iris’s, and all hope was lost.  
He realized he’d dove right into that volcano in the form of a cavern’s kiss.

* * *

 

General Zarkon stood near the main table with a glass of wine in his hand as he carefully watched the guests. Two guests in particular.

His nephew seemed to be enjoying himself in the protection of the avatar’s arms locked around his waist. Such a shame that this protection would only last so long. The men were too engrossed in each other to even notice his lingering, ominous gaze.

Ah, young love, so innocent, so pure, so naive,

And oh so very fragile and destructible.

Zarkon noticed his nephew whisper something into the avatar’s ears right before sneaking him away out of the ballroom and into the hallway. The general took another sip of his wine and smirked to himself.

“Everything is going perfectly.”

* * *

 

“So what did you want to show me?”

“If my timing is right, the meteor shower should begin in thirty minutes or so.”

“And?”

Lance and Keith finally finished walking up the flight of stairs and came to a stop before two double doors. The fire prince pulled out his key and opened the doors with a click. Lance stood frozen at the sight of the absolute grandeur. The spacious bedroom held a king sized bed covered in the nation’s signature scarlet. The luxurious mattress was surrounded by thin golden pillars with intricate designs and semi transparent drapes of lace. There was an L-shaped mahogany table to the right of the bed holding up stacks of papers, some neatly organized and some messily scattered. There were also many jars of ink, pens, and different colored paints. Scrolls of painted cherry blossoms, turtle ducks, and volcanoes decorated the maroon colored walls. The carpet was thin with embroidered golden fire lilies and to the left, through the white curtains and glass doors was a wide balcony. While the prince of the Southern Water Tribe also had a high-end bedroom, with a lovely view of the village and fur carpets, his room was still nothing compared to Keith’s. Curious about the avatar’s thoughts, Keith spoke up. “So, what do you think?”

Lance turned to respond. “It’s just… I honestly have no words.”

Keith let out a small chuckle. “You’re going to love the view from up here then.”

Lance was about to speak before he felt a soft hand lightly grip his wrist and pull him through the glass doors that led to the balcony. As Lance moved closer to the edge of the balcony and rested his elbows on the railings, he watched the Fire Nation skyline emerge, and it was the second most beautiful thing he thought he’d ever seen. The avatar noticed the shoreline where the dark, cold water met the warm gravelly sand, he stole a glimpse of the steep volcanoes and rocky mountains in the distance. The water tribe prince could see the children and their parents celebrating the festival, and eating fire flakes, as well as the dancing dragons and fire performers. He couldn’t help but appreciate the intricate architecture of every building as well, and the genuine, welcoming, smile on every civilian. These people loved this country, they loved its culture, its soldiers, and its leaders.

And from the look on their prince’s face as he watched them, with lingering warm eyes and a gentle smile, Lance could most certainly tell…This country’s leaders loved their people too.

“It’s incredible isn’t it?”

At that moment, Lance decided that as beautiful as this nation was, their prince was still and would always be the most breathtaking life in it.

“Yeah…” Lance smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

Keith slightly tilted his head, and as he caught Lance’s eyes on him, they were so… Intense yet admiring and the sight was somewhat overwhelming. It caused him to quickly turn back to watch the skyline. With a hitched breath and stuttered voice he continued. “I um- we should check to see when the meteor shower will start.”

Lance suddenly widened his eyes and turned away embarrassed as he remembered that was the reason the two were up there in the first place. “Oh-um. That’s uh- a good idea.”

But before Keith could even step back into his room, the entire town went dark, and silence surrounded the atmosphere, as the first bright meteor flew through the stars.

* * *

  
[The](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRSVAIl59Ng&index=11&list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_) scene looked as though plucked from a dream. One by one, sparkling red and orange sparks swiftly danced through the blue of midnight. With his palms loosely gripped to the railing, Lance gawked at the sight in awe as the cool breeze gently kissed his skin. It was unlike anything the Water Tribe prince had ever seen, only comparable to the crystallized colorful lights of the North, and still, those were cold and icy, the falling stars were much warmer and brighter. It was hard to match the two since the falling stars didn’t look like they were merely reflecting crystals or flaming rocks, the sight more closely resembled glowing spirits flying through their realm yet still showing their presence to the humans adjacent. Lance’s imagination drifted to the image as he became hypnotized by the fiery orbs. It wasn’t until a warm hand fell atop his own cold knuckles that he was released from its spell. But that didn’t stop him from spiraling into a different one entirely as ocean eyes locked with violet.

Meanwhile, Keith took a moment to take in the boy in front of him. One last glance at the golden brown of his skin, the sharpness of his jaw, the kindness in his smile, depth of his eyes, and the way the strands of his dark hair framed his face. He memorized every detail because after this moment, he doubted he'd ever get to see the warmth of it again. With a deep breath, he slowly moved his hand to the pocket of his royal robe and pulled out a closed fist. Keeping the item enclosed in his palm, he bit his lip and looked up.

"Lance... there's something you need to know."

The avatar's brows furrowed slightly in question as if urging Keith to continue.

"I knew if I let you leave... that if you got on an airship tomorrow, well, that thought- the thought of never seeing you again. Never being as close to you anymore. It just brought me pain... and regret." Keith paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "I knew if I never tried to tell you the way I felt about you, I'd regret it til the end of me."

"What do you mean?-"

"I'm in love with you."

Keith found himself blurting it out and watched Lance's features suddenly stiffen. Despite hoping the balcony floor would open up to end his misery, the prince continued.

"I don't think I even knew it for a while... not until the cave. In the beginning, you got on my nerves, and I wasn't entirely sure why. I mean the door thing was a good reason."

That earned Keith a chuckle from Lance. "Yeah, it was."

The fire prince turned red and smiled. "While I'm glad you agree, I realized it was also because... you were so different. A good kind of different. You were loud and made your presence known, but when I saw you waterbend, I noticed how calm you could be too. I felt a strange pull to you which I didn't understand, but I let it influence me anyways. I expected you to make fun of me when I told you I had a nightmare... but you didn't.

You instead comforted me, with the story of the moon and I became intrigued. I felt myself hoping you'd continue for a while. Your voice became soothing, and your laugh contagious."

Keith stopped and looked at the skyline once more. "I haven't had a nightmare since.

I already vaguely knew about the extent of my emotions,

But one kiss...

And I felt like embers on ice sheets."

Keith turned to face Lance as he slowly opened his fist.

What the water tribe prince saw, resting in the palm of Keith's hand, left him as frozen and stiff as the Southern ice caps. For nestled in the fire prince's palm was a scarlet and cerulean colored stone, crafted with the symbols of yin and yan merged with fire and ice. It was held in place by a dark purple ribbon.

Keith gently glided over the stone with his thumb. "I um- I heard it was a traditional custom of your tribe to propose with a betrothal necklace. I wanted this to be perfect because well, I think you are... and every spirit knows I don't deserve you. But if you'd give me a chance, I'd do everything I could to make you happy, to protect your laughter, and hurt anyone who'd even attempt to take it away. I'd give you my life, and love you unwaveringly if you'd have me." Keith's soft voice came to a halt with the touch of his tongue. All he could do now was lift his chin and anticipate a response.

Meanwhile, Lance felt the sensation of a thousand bolts of electricity shoot through his bloodstream, leaving his physical vessel immobile, while his mind desperately began searching for an answer to a question he wasn’t even sure he understood. The only thing he could comprehend was he was looking for something, simultaneously hoping he’d never find it. A reason to make sense of the captivating and terrifying emotions he felt around the prince of the Fire Nation. The heaviness in his heart which would only ever be filled with the vibrations of his voice, the static of his touch, the softness of his smile and the raw intensity of his emotions. The prince of the Fire Nation managed to thaw out the icy, guarded heart of a water tribe prince in just a few days. Or maybe even less. He couldn't believe it. The prince of a fierce and respected tribe, now a mere wanderer, like ice melting at his touch. Everything in his life had been a blur, a sequence of events and duties that never seemed to end. He'd live day by day and do what was expected, and it would leave him unsure. A bittersweet crave for something different, something more.

Until he finally hit the nail on the hammer.

Well, more like slammed it in the face, quite literally on a humid day in a tea shop.

It came in the form of a hotheaded, stubborn prince with a mullet that really shouldn't look as good on him as it does. A prince who was all that and more, he was sensitive, fearless, protective, and gentle. He never cared what anyone thought of him, and he found a way to do what he pleased, what he desired, no matter the obstacles in his path, he was driven not by logic or expectation. Keith was driven only by his heart.

He was... clarity.

And now Keith was watching him with that same glint in his violet iris', dilated pupils and soft expression. Expecting a response after pouring his heart and soul out to him.

Keith was in love with him...

Lance had never had a clearer sense of direction than he did now. On the balcony of a prince's quarters, under the starlight of a glimmering sky, filled with countless shooting stars, he found the love of his life.

Keith wanted to marry him...

Suddenly, Keith felt a warm hand grip the back of his neck and met Lance's soft lips pressing against his own.

He was in love with Keith.

Initial shock slowly faded as Keith began to respond to his touch. Tilting his head to deepen the kiss as he brought a hand to rest on Lance's shoulder. The same familiar magnetic pull was present once more, as negative and positive poles clashed together in harmony. The once soft lingering kiss became fiercer as Lance ran his fingers through the charcoal strands of Keith's hair, undoing his top knot as chopped bangs fell to frame his pale skin. Keith hungrily bit Lance's lower lip and wrapped both his arms around the avatar's neck. But Lance...

He can't marry Keith...

Lance stopped.

[In](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnPB_uOUPxI&index=28&list=PLxVOnK1C9XgHxTIAxtW9pXJwWxH2m_UJ_) a quick motion, he gripped Keith's arms from his shoulders and released himself from the contact. He closed his eyes and didn't dare to look at the expression painted on Keith's face. With his back now facing the prince, Lance shook his head while trembling hands ran through his hair and masked his pained expression. He kissed Keith. Despite every logical voice in his brain telling him he shouldn't. It wasn't just a simple kiss either because this time... it would've led to more.

The absolute truth, acceptance and cold reality of the situation brought silent tears to his eyes. Tears he knew were coming and tears he turned away to hide.

Behind him, Keith stood in silence.

And Lance was to blame. Keith confessed, and instead of grounding himself to respond objectively, he became selfish. Recklessly playing with Keith's heartstrings for his own personal fulfillment. His words triggering Lance's surfacing desires that were kept buried and suppressed to sustain a level of control. But this time he failed. He acted on impulse. His body working quickly to reject whatever self-discipline he had left in favor of the opportunity for intimacy, and now...

"Lance...?"

Now he had to face the impact and consequences of those decisions.

Shifting his body towards the sound of his name, Lance lifted his chin. "I'm sorry." Lance bit his lip and closed his watery eyes. "I shouldn't have done that."

Keith's raised brows and wide eyes scrunched up as his expression fell into one of worry and dismay. "Why?"

"Because I can't be with you!" Lance shouted. "I can't be with you no matter how much I want to. No matter what I feel. I-" His voice became softer, it cracked with the effort he made to hold the tears that were uncontrollably sliding down his cheeks. "I have obligations, duties to my family that I can't go back on. I'm set to marry princess Nyma of the Northern Tribe tomorrow... and I made a promise. I can't go back on it." Lance was scared to look up at the prince. He expected anger and hatred.

Instead, he felt a warm thumb graze over his cheekbone to wipe his tears away and an understanding gaze. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lance swallowed noticing the proximity. "I didn't know any of this would happen,"

Keith questioned. "That what would happen?"

Ocean blue iris' interlocked with violet ones once more. "That I'd fall in love with you... and that you'd fall for me too."

The fire prince's breath hitched. The eye contact never wavered as Keith ever slightly tilted his lips. "You love me?"

Suddenly the avatar's cheeks tinged red as he giggled at Keith's adorable oblivious nature. "I definitely do not, it's not like I just made out with you or anything, or confessed my own feelings expressing that I clearly did. Absolutely not- Ouch-" Lance's taunting was met with a light punch on the shoulder, and a very red faced pouty Keith.

Spirits, Keith was so precious, and Lance couldn't help want to just kiss him right now.

"What?"

Now realizing he had said that aloud, Lance put a hand over his mouth and looked away. Keith leaned in closer as he smiled. "Lance, if you wanted to kiss me, you could've just asked."

The avatar paused for a moment. "I'm trying to avoid that... I tend to lose control around you."

The words created a warm knot in Keith's stomach. He remembered the hungry glint in Lance's eyes just moments ago. The tight grip and caressing hands moving all over his robe, begging to touch the skin under the cloth. The impatient dig of tan fingers running through his scalp and the satisfied moans after tasting his lips. Lance wanted him... badly.

Keith could feel the warmth travel down from his stomach and subtly bit his lip. He wanted Lance just as badly.

"But since we're here I might as well let you know." Keith was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of Lance's quiet voice. He watched as the avatar pulled out a small box from the pocket of his trousers. He stared at it for a moment before lifting the lid to reveal a handmade bracelet of gorgeous fire lilies and forget me knot blossoms, tied together with thin green stems and leaves.

Keith stood motionless while the cool night breeze created subtle waves in his hair as he laid his eyes on the square container. Lance couldn't help but smile as he continued. "If it weren't for circumstance, I would've been the one to ask."

Keith couldn't take it anymore.

The fire prince gripped the red fabric of Lance's tunic and made their lips touch once more. He clung to the fabric in a desperate attempt not to let him slip away. Meanwhile the avatar, in shock and hesitant to respond, kept his eyes open and noticed the tears that began to form under the prince's pale eyelids. Soon he felt Keith's lips pull away, but their noses still touched.

Keith kept his eyes on the ground, but Lance could see his lashes were still watery. He could've sworn through those quiet sobs, that Lance heard the firebender plead. "Please stay..."

He'd never seen Keith like this, clinging to him as a child would his mother. Broken down, vulnerable, and torn at the seams.

"Please, just for tonight. Stay with me-"

But before Keith could say anything more, Lance's lips stopped him.

Lance couldn't take it anymore either. Resting his hands on Keith's hips once more, he tugged the firebender closer. The distance between them became an inconvenience and Keith, having received the answer to his plea through the action, tilted his head to the side to give Lance's tongue easier access. The kisses became faster, and their trousers felt tighter. The fire prince arched his back to press against Lance, moaning into each kiss. Growing tired of the robe in his way, Lance nearly ripped it off, leaving Keith's pale, toned biceps exposed and the rest of him in a scarlet tunic and fitted pants. The bare cream skin he could glimpse now tormented him. He wanted more. But before he could lift Keith's shirt off, he was stopped. "Lance, not out here..."

Keith said with an eager smirk and a brief nod in the direction of his quarters. To which Lance responded by sliding the door open and pushing both their bodies inside.

Behind them, the final star fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know when the next update will be so I can't make any promises. But know I'm doing my best to get them to you when I can. Thank you for supporting me throughout if you're still reading this fic. I appreciate all of you greatly and the comments I've received, honestly make my days and even weeks. Once again thank you! See you next update! ^_^
> 
> Here's what the scene looks like in my head. http://thegirlinthefandom.tumblr.com/post/165070758044/chapter-10-of-embers-on-ice-sheets-is-finally-up

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh so there it is, I know you guys were probably hoping for a meeting between these two but you'll definitely get that next chapter. I will try to get chapter 2 up as soon as I can, Updates will usually be every 3 days so the next one will most likely be Monday night!. I'll try to keep the posting times consistent as well. I hope you guys liked this chapter!! Thank you for reading!! :D


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